The posture of the bone hand was overly polite for a trap.
As Yi Han took a step forward, the bone hand trembled violently and rolled backward, lying down as if to prove it had no hostile intentions.
"…?" Just as Yi Han was about to fall into confusion, Professor Mortum spoke up.
"Ahem. It's easy to be deceived by the beautiful and majestic appearance of undead summoning, but in truth, summoning undead is by no means an easy task."
Mages who studied summoning magic often fell into this dilemma: "Do we really have to summon inanimate objects? Can't we just summon something with a will of its own?"
Even summoning a magical sword required pre-planning its attributes and how it would move autonomously.
At higher levels, it demanded almost artificial intelligence-level autonomy.
One could imagine how torturous it was for mages studying summoning magic.
"Why do we have to plan everything out? Can't we just summon something with a will from the start?"
Of course, summoning something with a will had its clear drawbacks, which was why they designed it this way.
Having a will meant there was a possibility the summoned being wouldn't obey the summoner.
And undead monsters were generally "a bit" more disobedient than other monsters.
Their very nature was fundamentally opposed.
Summoners were mostly alive, while undead were, well, dead.
It was only natural that it was hard to get along with them.
Thus, dark mages used various methods to befriend undead.
Living in graveyards, smearing rotten substances on their bodies, wearing necklaces made of bones and flesh...
These weren't acts of perversion by dark mages.
They were tearful efforts to conceal the life force of the living and get closer to the undead.
"......"
"......"
The students listening to the story turned as pale as undead, but Professor Mortum didn't seem to notice.
"Ahem. So, for now, try to befriend the bone hand by any means necessary. If you can befriend the bone hand, you might one day befriend other undead monsters as well."
Spending time closely with undead monsters would naturally infuse your soul with their aura.
If you could get along with low-level undead like the bone hand, you might one day handle more powerful undead.
"Professor."
"?"
Yi Han, who had been quietly waiting for Professor Mortum to finish speaking, raised his hand and called out to the professor.
"Are there undead that are... a bit cowardly?"
"??"
Undead monsters were generally fearless.
After all, they weren't alive.
Professor Mortum was about to scoff at the question... but then he noticed the bone hand trembling in fear in front of Yi Han.
"?!"
Professor Mortum gave his summoned bone hand a look of disbelief.
What was it doing when it was supposed to be intimidating the students? The bone hand bowed its head as if ashamed.
'Can't you just approach him?'
Despite Professor Mortum's command, the bone hand trembled and refused to approach Yi Han.
The professor wondered if there was something wrong with the potion he had used.
Slap! Slap!
Another bone hand was enthusiastically slapping Gaeinando's cheek.
They all seemed perfectly fine.
'Did the bone hand feel some kind of closeness because of the bone summon? No... that wouldn't explain why it's scared.'
Only one conclusion remained.
Professor Mortum was inwardly shocked.
Could it be...?
"Ahem. Try summoning one yourself."
"Is that allowed?"
"Of course. The advantage of dark magic over summoning magic is that it allows for practical experience. Summoning magic would have you studying for a year before you got to try anything."
"......"
Professor Mortum tossed a bone fragment needed for the spell and drew a magic circle on the ground.
Yi Han picked up his wand and focused.
He couldn't help but feel uneasy with the professor acting like this.
'It feels like he's pushing the curriculum too hard just to show that dark magic is better...'
The only saving grace was that even if the bone hand attacked, Yi Han could probably handle it.
He recited the incantation.
"Appear, bone hand!"
As he swung his wand and tossed the bone fragment, the fragment absorbed mana and began to transform into a bone hand amidst eerie smoke.
This wasn't one of the bone hands summoned earlier, tightly controlled by Professor Mortum.
This was a new bone hand summoned by Yi Han himself.
The summoning spell acted like a chain around the neck of a beast, controlling the undead monster.
But novice mages often struggled to handle that chain properly.
Professor Mortum kept a close eye on the bone hand.
If it broke free and attacked Yi Han, he planned to reverse-summon it immediately.
Roll roll roll—
"......"
"......"
The new bone hand summoned by Yi Han showed even more intense submission than the ones summoned by Professor Mortum.
The bone summon hanging from Yi Han's belt shook with jealousy.
"You have too much mana," Professor Mortum calmly explained.
Thinking about it, there had been signs since the curse.
He hadn't expected the undead monsters to be so terrified and submissive to such an extent...
Yi Han, like a patient diagnosed with an incurable disease, asked seriously, "I see. Professor, is there any way to fix it?"
"Ahem. Why would you want to fix it? It's a blessed talent."
"??"
Yi Han was stunned.
Well... it makes casting magic difficult, and spirits run away...
"Ahem. With such a talent, you don't even need to befriend undead monsters. Just suppress them with force. What a wonderful talent."
Dark mages didn't roll around in graves because they enjoyed it.
They did it to befriend undead monsters.
But if that wasn't necessary?
In Professor Mortum's eyes, subduing undead monsters was a higher level of control than befriending them.
It was just harder to achieve.
"But Professor, while undead monsters can be summoned and subdued, spirits won't respond to summoning unless you befriend them first. Having the ability to intimidate won't help there."
To Yi Han's question, Professor Mortum kindly replied, "Ahem. There's a good solution."
"What is it?"
"Give up on summoning spirits."
"......"
Yi Han was grateful for the table.
Since his hands were under it, he could clench his fists without being noticed.
But Professor Mortum was serious.
"Ahem. Why are you trying to graze on grass when you have such fine teeth and claws? Dark magic suits you best. I don't usually say this, but... you have a genius-level talent for dark magic."
"Ah. I see."
"?!"
Yi Han's indifferent reaction left Professor Mortum flustered.
It was a rare and precious compliment, but the student was too nonchalant.
Perhaps it was because he was from the Wodanaz family.
His reactions were different from what one would expect.
'The time to be swayed by professors' praise is over.'
Professors often praised when necessary, especially in unpopular fields.
Falling for such praise could ruin one's life.
Yi Han changed the subject.
"But Professor, casting magic is difficult because of my mana levels."
"That will get better with practice. Ahem. I'll help you with that."
'Damn.
Professors really aren't helpful.'
They only cared about their own interests, dragging students along.
But then again, professors were always like that.
"Ah... thank you very much."
After managing his expression, Yi Han nodded.
He hadn't fully decided on dark magic as his path, but he had to prepare for the possibility that he might fail in other magics and only have dark magic left.
Thinking of that, it wouldn't do to make a bad impression on Professor Mortum.
Professor and student exchanged satisfied smiles, each with their own thoughts.
"You brat! I'll destroy you!"
Gaeinando, his cheek swollen, grabbed his wand and swung at the bone hand.
Raphaedel, equally battered, drew his wooden sword and struck the bone hand.
The only one unscathed was Imirg.
He had pinned down the attacking bone hand but was at a loss for what to do next.
Sensing Yi Han's disbelief, Professor Mortum spoke up.
"Ahem. Having a talent for dark magic doesn't mean you'll quickly befriend undead. That's a bad approach. It's a typical mistake young dark mages make."
"But if you beat them enough, won't the undead monsters respect the summoner?"
Professor Mortum looked at Yi Han as if he were insane.
Yi Han felt unjustly accused.
'You said subduing them was a good method...'
After the extra class, Gaeinando applied the ointment Professor Mortum had given him to his swollen cheek and grumbled.
"Ungrateful undead monsters... Yi Han."
"?"
"Let's hurry to the summoning magic class. If it's not undead monsters, it should be better."
"......"
Would it really?
'Spirits aside, demons are fiercer than undead monsters, and monsters are naturally wild.'
As Yi Han pondered this, Raphaedel shouted with a swollen face, "You evil dark mage brat! Just you wait. I'll be watching you."
"Come on. There seems to be a misunderstanding between us. As fellow dark magic students, do we really have to fight?"
"You brat! You slapped my cheek earlier!"
"That was a mistake."
While the other students were trying to befriend undead monsters, Yi Han, following Professor Mortum's instructions, tested how far he could command the undead.
When he successfully commanded the bone hand to destroy itself, even Professor Mortum applauded in admiration.
But there were mistakes too.
At one point, due to a command error, the bone hand Yi Han had summoned slapped Raphaedel's cheek, causing him to grumble about the "evil dark mage brat."
It was an unfortunate mistake.
"Come on. Why don't you believe me..."
"Yi Han. He's already gone."
"What a shame."
Gaeinando looked at Yi Han with a mix of fear and awe.
...
Is this why undead follow him so well?!
"Imirg. See you next class."
"Uh, yeah. Yi Han. Not outside, though..."
Yi Han was slightly hurt but didn't show it.
The Spirit Hall.
The Spirit Hall, a workshop and tower used by Professor Milley, had a completely different atmosphere from the Dark Hall.
'It's like a library.'
Ironically, the magic school's library resembled a chaotic storage room of a bankrupt company, while the Spirit Hall felt more like a library than a library.
The path to the tower was neatly paved with bricks, and nearby were a pond and walking paths.
'The Dark Hall had a pond too.'
Though it was a purple pond with bubbles of poison rising to the surface...
Gaeinando stood at the door of the Spirit Hall and knocked cautiously.
Then he turned to Yi Han and asked, "Wait. What should we say?"
"Just the truth."
"That we were late because an undead slapped my cheek...?"
"... Let me handle it. Professor Milley! We're sorry for being late. Another professor held us up with a potion..."
"If it was a potion, there's nothing to be done. No need to apologize."
Professor Milley responded as she opened the tower's door.
Walking down to the first floor to greet the late arrivals, Professor Milley raised an eyebrow upon seeing Yi Han.
It was as if she was surprised to see him.
'...
What's this?'
Yi Han suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
Could it be that Professor Mortum had told the other professors, "This one's going to be my disciple, so everyone back off"?