|3rd POV|
"Greetings, my name is Grandeeney, Sky Dragon Queen."
They look at her in awe and a hint of fear. Grandeeney is very beautiful and majestic, but the mana she releases is so massive that the people who are 'blind' to mana are able to feel how powerful she is.
"Greeting, Your Highness"
The first to speak is Cale. He walks forward with a smile and greets Grandeeney.
"Welcome to Henituse County, and thank you for helping me."
The others snap from their shock and quickly greet her as well. Grandeeney waves her hand and says.
"Please call me Grandeeney. I am no longer a queen. My heiress is the one taking that position."
Ryan looks at her and nods his head. It looks like Grandeeney made Wendy her heiress. He is not angry or even upset about this; instead, he is happy not to take any important position. He already has too much responsibility and would rather not have more.
"Does that mean Dragon Ryan will be a Sky Dragon King?"
Raon looks at Ryan with a sparkle in his eyes. However, Ryan laughs loudly at his words and says.
"Nothing like that, Little Raon. The one taking the position will be my sister. She is the first daughter, after all. She will be the one taking the position. I would rather have a slow and lazy life than have that kind of responsibility."
At the same time, all the humans look at Cale, who nods his head in understanding. The red-haired man snaps from his thoughts and looks at the others.
"What?"
Raon shakes his head and flies toward his father figure (he will never admit it out loud), then pats his head.
"You are too weak a human to have responsibility, human."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Grandeeney laughs a little and casts a spell. Her body shines and starts to shrink. After a few seconds, the light dies down, and a woman with pink hair stands where the dragon previously was.
"Now! Let's start the procedure, shall we?"
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While Grandeeney takes care of our host, I decided to inspect the woman with that much Black Mana. I look at the hooded figure, which I know is a woman, and take her in from top to bottom. I can see her looking uncomfortable at my gaze and says.
"C-Can I help you, Great Dragon?"
"You have a lot of Black Mana inside of you."
She looks at me, blinking at my words, and says.
"Yes. I am a Necromancer."
"That I know. However, what I don't understand is the reason why you let it inside your body and not form them like stars around your soul."
While I don't know the deep knowledge of Planeswalker, I know the basics, and what she is doing is hurting her body. There is a reason why planeswalkers quantify mana. It is stable and easier to mold into different spells.
A single mana can be used for multiple spells. One mana point can be used for two high-end spells, up to 10 mid-tier spells, and up to 25 low-tier spells. How do I know this? I can use the mana inside my body to power the spells I know.
However, what she is doing causes the mana within her to evaporate and return to nature. It is such a waste.
"What do you mean, Great Dragon?"
"Here, watch this."
I take out one Black Mana from my body, and I can see the people around me flinch at the massive amount of mana from the black orb floating above my hand. I guess to them, this is a massive amount of mana, with how these people tell me that Rosalyn, the red-haired woman, is a high-class mage.
Back home, a high-class mage, a proper one, needs at least a mana reserve as big as seven mana of any color.
"What do you see, Mary?"
That is the name of the woman in front of me, Mary. She has great potential for a perfect Necromancer. I can feel that her body is a perfect host for Black Mana, and it is a waste to let her die because it cannot handle all the Black Mana she is carrying.
"A concentration of Black Mana."
"That's right. Now, condense your mana just like mine. Here, I will give you an example."
I showed her how to do it, and I was impressed by her quick learning. It takes her three tries before she is finally able to condense the mana and make it float around her soul.
"This is…"
"Great, right? Now, your Mana Core is untouched. That means you can use Black Mana without contaminating your Mana Core. That also means you can use other kinds of magic as well. However, before we do that, we need to absorb the Black Mana that contaminates your body and turn them into 1 Black Mana."
It takes her thirty minutes to cleanse her body from the Black Mana that is deep inside of her, and when we are done, she no longer reeks of Black Mana.
"Now, people will not know you are a Necromancer."
I blink for a second when I see tears falling down to the ground.
"Are you okay?"
"I-I am more than okay, Great Dragon. Thank you so much. Thank you for returning to my normal life."
I smile and pat her head.
"It is not a problem, Mary. It is my pleasure. Anyway, because of this technique, you do not need to worry about Black Mana hurting your body, as the Black Mana will enter your reserve now. However, be aware not to get too many of them, okay? Just like any mage, you need to know your limit. Too much mana and it will explode, then hurt your body."
"Yes, Great Dragon. I shall remember your teaching and make sure not to overload my reserve."
"Perfect! I am happy to help you, Mary."
"D-Do you need anything, Great Dragon? I-I want to repay you for what you have done."
"Well, I don't need anything. But if you want to make me proud, become a good Necromancer. Don't become a Necromancer that only knows how to raise the dead or curse someone who offends them."
"Eh? I thought that Necromancer is all about those kinds of things."
"Where do you hear that kind of thing? No, of course not."
I take out a whiteboard from my Gate of Babylon and, with a wave of my hand, write what I want to write.
"The School of Necromancy explores the cosmic forces of life, death, and undeath. As you focus your studies in this tradition, you learn to manipulate the energy that animates all living things. As you progress, you learn to sap the life force from a creature as your magic destroys its body, transforming that vital energy into magical power you can manipulate."
I can see that Mary is not the only person who looks entranced by my lecture. Rosalyn and the disguised Dark Elf sitting next to Mary also look at me in fascination.
"Most people see necromancers as menacing, or even villainous, due to the close association with death. Not all necromancers are evil, but the forces they manipulate are considered taboo by many societies."
I clap my hands and look at the people in front of me.
"What does that mean? That means, Necromancy can be used for good. For one, you can guide the souls of the dead into the afterlife. Some souls linger in the mortal world, and depending on how powerful their souls are, they can linger for years. This is painful for the soul. Their essence is slowly stripped from their souls, and the process is very painful."
I take out some books I got from Nier world and from back home. They are copies of the original, as the original is still back home in the library.
"Here are the books about Necromancy. There are spells that let you guide souls into the afterlife and purify souls cursed by someone. Some of them are even useful for daily life."
I look at Rosalyn and the Dark Elf and say.
"You two can learn them as well. Most of those spells can be used with regular mana, not Black Mana."
They thank me and start to ask questions. However, before I can say something, Grandeeney returns with Cale and his parents, along with Raon.
"How is it, Mother?"
"Hmmm~ He is as good as new. However, his soul will decay fast and need something to prevent that. It is because of the imbalance of the powers inside his soul. That is where you are coming, dear. You are a Sage, after all."
I look at Cale and his family, and they still have worried expressions. I look at the red-haired man and say.
"Well, you have two options, Cale."
"What is it?"
"First one, you become a Sage. It will require a decade of constant training and meditation."
I chuckle a little at the displeasure on his face.
"What about the second option?"
"Well, the second one is to balance your powers. I can see that the Silver Shield has a Wood nature and the Cyclone has a Wind nature. Supposedly, Metal is the one stabilizing the other elements, but your Red Heart is already doing that, so you only need to search for Fire, Earth, and Water."
I can see him light up, and I immediately know he can get them.
"You know about them, then?"
"Some of them, yes. How long do I have before my soul degrades to the point of no return?"
"Oh, that will take a long time. Seventy years at the shortest. That is not what I am worried about. What I am worried about is that your body will also get weaker along with your soul to the point that you cannot move. Give or take, forty years before you are too weak to move too much."
"That is more than enough."
"That is good then."
I can see his parents look at Cale in relief, and the count walks toward me.
"Great Dragons, I officially invite you to my mansion. Will you attend the feast?"
I look at Grandeeney and see her nod. I smile at the count and say.
"We are more than happy to attend."
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