The Valhalla Army
From that day on, the attitudes of Ahentar and the Merlin knights toward me—no, toward Falaon—changed completely.
"Baron, word has it that traces of a demon were found in the village next door. We shall go investigate."
"Hmm. Do that."
"Monsters have been spotted, they say…"
The Merlin knights took the initiative, moving of their own accord to keep the peace across the territory—as if that had been their original purpose all along.
And that was not all.
"I hear you lot call yourselves Khtun's knights. Sir Valt, would you mind if I looked them over for a while?"
"…If you would do so, it would be an honor, though I worry it might impose upon Your Highness."
"Impose? Khtun is my brother."
"Ah—yes. Then I shall leave them in your care."
Ahentar, who had nothing better to do, crawled out to the training grounds and began whipping Zeke and Milo into shape.
"You two have decent talent. But if you mean to call yourselves my little brother's knights, you still fall far short. We start with the fundamentals. Mental fortitude will follow naturally."
Even the way he addressed me had changed.
My little brother?
Since when am I brothers with a Merlin scion…?
It was pure humiliation.
To be brothers with that underhanded, slippery Merlin heir who had tried to solidify his power by exploiting the southern crisis!
[Didn't you once swear to follow him as your elder brother for life?]
"Falaon does not break."
[You really…]
What.
[Are shameless beyond measure.]
For reference, "shameless beyond measure" means "thick-faced and utterly without shame"—a rather intellectual turn of phrase for the Ancestor to use.
He must have evolved after spending so much time beside his brilliant descendant.
Meanwhile, under the absolute support of Ahentar and the Merlin knights, our house was quietly and steadily reaping its own rewards.
And what were those rewards?
Removal of Pixer's Eggs.
In exchange for a reasonable fee, we had agreed to clear the surrounding territories of their Pixer's Eggs.
What? Didn't those other territories have knights of their own?
They did.
They did—but whether those knights were skilled enough to handle a Pixer's Egg was another matter entirely.
For all its unassuming name, a Pixer's Egg was a high-ranking demon in its own right.
If they threw everything they had at it, they might eventually succeed in destroying one. But with demons popping up everywhere already, the neighboring lords had no desire to absorb the additional casualties.
Bilheim, on the other hand, could handle a Pixer's Egg alone without breaking a sweat.
This is a win-win.
They got to preserve their precious manpower; we got to scoop up easy concessions.
And the most important part is the cores.
Exactly.
As the price of the deal, Bilheim was bringing home both coin and cores.
So what had I been doing all this time?
Simple.
"…Raising a million-skeleton army."
With the southern cores pouring into my hands, I was growing stronger.
While sitting still.
With a single flick of the wrist… just one little click.
First, my skeleton legion.
If one were to speak of the so-called "Valhalla Army," its current number stood at five hundred.
Why only five hundred?
I can make more… but they won't fit in the subspace.
That subspace, by the way, was a trophy my dear brother Bilheim had claimed after crushing a particularly vile cultist. It had since become my skeleton storage—my "portable Valhalla."
Apparently it had held other contents once, but Bilheim and Ren had already taken those, so I had no idea what they were.
Anyway.
"A necromancer commanding five hundred skeletons…"
The words alone made my chest swell with grandeur.
[Hmm. You can finally call yourself a proper necromancer.]
A proper necromancer…?
Could the simple label "necromancer" possibly define a once-in-a-generation genius like Khtun?
Absolutely not.
Besides, these were no ordinary skeletons.
Each and every one was a special skeleton cradling a core in its chest.
[So what makes a skeleton with a core so special?]
"Well, you see…"
According to the research I had been conducting in spare moments these past few days, it went like this.
First: combat power.
"Tiktak."
Tiktak!
"Begin combat."
Tiriktak!
With Tiktak's help, I pitted one Miniton against one core skeleton.
The result… regrettably, was the Miniton's overwhelming victory.
Tiriktak!
That little bastard…?
Watching Tiktak strike a victory pose made my blood boil, but I forced myself to regain composure and continued the tests.
The conclusion:
Three core skeletons equal the combat strength of one Miniton.
[Their speed and power aren't bad, but their movements are far too monotonous. Stiff, you might say.]
"Right."
Unlike the Minitons, the core skeletons' motions felt somehow unnatural.
If a Miniton moved like a living person, a core skeleton was more like a clumsy puppet.
But what if I amplify the output using the mana stored in the core?
I ordered Tiktak to run the fight again.
The result:
Thud! Thuuud!
Crunch!
Forget organic movement—the core skeleton simply crushed its opponent with raw force!
"When the core is amplified, it can pulverize a Miniton."
[Duration?]
"One moment."
I waited until the mana stored in the core was completely spent.
The amplified output lasted roughly… a little over a minute.
"Factoring in vigorous movement, maybe thirty seconds."
[Not bad. The problem is how weak they are without amplification… How many can you operate at once?]
"Hmm."
I immediately launched the next experiment: how many skeletons I could control simultaneously.
The result:
"Thirty is the most stable number."
[So that's about ten Minitons' worth.]
Since Tiktak could field twelve Minitons, that put me at less than one Tiktak.
But I already had a plan.
"I'll have them carry shields."
[Shields?]
"Yes."
More precisely, I would divide the thirty core skeletons into three ranks.
First rank: shields.
Second rank: spears.
And the final third rank would hold sword and shield to protect me.
[Not bad. Forming ranks should compensate for their monotonous movements.]
"Right?"
[What about bows? Too difficult?]
"Yes, that would be hard."
I didn't even need to test it.
Anything requiring the precision of archery was still beyond them.
Now for the final issue.
Duration is the problem…
For reference, core skeletons—like the Goltic Duo or Brother Myuhan—consumed my mana simply by existing.
Storing them in the subspace stopped the drain, but in actual combat they would guzzle my mana in great gulps.
So what then?
[What else? In the end, training is the answer.]
"Training?"
[Yes. Simply keeping Goltic and Myuhan summoned barely registers on your mana anymore.]
That was true.
At some point, summoning all three—and even letting them train—hardly made a dent in my reserves.
The reason was probably…
Not only has the absolute quantity increased, but my mana recovery rate has risen as well.
[You have to push yourself to the limit. That's the only way to increase both capacity and recovery.]
It was a brutally crude method.
To accumulate mana, you had to completely exhaust it first.
No breathing techniques or anything…?
Well, there was no choice.
I'll do it.
There were three things I needed to cultivate right now.
1. Mana capacity
2. Recovery rate
3. Control
Capacity and recovery would extend the endurance of my skeleton troops; control would increase their absolute numbers.
And the method for raising all three was simple.
Just summon a lot, and handle a lot.
Honestly…
I still have plenty of cores left to use.
Besides the small ones, I had several medium and large cores, plus the colossal one taken from the Mouth of Targis. But my necromantic skill and absolute mana reserves were not yet ready to make proper use of them.
So I would train diligently.
Just as I was settling on the direction of my growth, a voice interrupted.
"Little brother, are you busy?"
"Ah, Brother."
It was Ahentar, the Merlin scion.
What now?
While I wondered, Ahentar held something out to me.
"A gift."
"A gift?"
"Yes."
What could it be?
What Ahentar offered was a metal token.
Even at a glance, it was crafted from an expensive-looking material.
As I stared at it, Ahentar spoke.
"Have you heard of the Mysterious Merchants?"
"Mysterious Merchants?"
"Yes. They're half-legendary figures… people who will find you no matter when or where you are—even at the edge of hell itself—and sell you anything in the world, so long as you call them."
"Fascinating."
But why bring up Mysterious Merchants?
"This is a token that summons them."
"Pardon?"
"Ah, of course the rumors are a bit exaggerated, but the goods they sell are quite decent."
"Something this precious…"
Was Ahentar an angel?
Perhaps he sensed my emotion. Ahentar smiled pleasantly.
"It isn't much use to me anyway. I can get anything they offer without needing to summon them."
"Ah."
Then it really was useless to him.
So I can be a little less grateful…
[Have a human heart, please.]
Yes, Ancestor.
I engraved the Ancestor's advice upon my heart and bowed my head.
"Even so… thank you. It is far too precious a gift."
"Haha, I'm glad you like it. Shall I give you a little advice while we're at it?"
"Yes, Brother."
I folded my hands respectfully, ready to receive my august brother's words.
"If you don't know what to buy, tell the Mysterious Merchant you want to deal with an 'alchemist.'"
"An alchemist?"
"Mm. The alchemists the Mysterious Merchants introduce are exceptionally skilled. They'll find what you need and make it for you."
"Ah, yes."
"If you're curious, why not try it now?"
"Hmm…"
I hesitated for a moment.
Was it right to use something this valuable right away?
But Brother Ahentar resolved my dilemma in an instant.
"If you use it now, it'll still take some time for the merchant to arrive. If he shows up while I'm still here, I'll cover the cost of whatever you buy."
"How do I use it?"
"Simple. Just pour mana into the token."
"Ah."
I did as my brother instructed and poured mana into the token.
It glowed, then—
Wuum—
vibrated for a moment, just like a smartphone.
"Is that… it?"
"Yes. Now you wait. The merchant will sense the token's location and come find you."
"Ah."
I see. All that remained was to wait.
"By the way, Brother, when do you plan to return?"
"Well… I should start preparing soon. I've stayed quite a while."
"I see."
I earnestly hoped the Mysterious Merchant would arrive quickly.
Not because free things were nice, but because I did not want to waste my brother's kindness.
And then—
Wuum!
The token that had fallen silent vibrated again, and a human voice emerged.
[Ah, ah, can you hear me?]
What?
[Can you not hear me?]
"…I can hear you. Who is this?"
[Ah, I am the Mysterious Merchant Kon. Are you the owner of the token?]
"Yes, that's correct."
What is this?
Was this thing capable of remote communication?
Such things existed in this world too?
Curious, I glanced at Ahentar; he also seemed rather surprised by the function.
But why had the Mysterious Merchant suddenly opened a channel?
The reason became clear at once.
[Might I inquire as to the origin of the 'subspace box' you are currently holding?]
"Subspace box?"
How did he know I had a subspace box?
As I wondered, the voice of the Mysterious Merchant Kon rang in my ear once more.
"I would appreciate an honest answer. Depending on that answer, we may both end up red-faced."
Not from the token—but from directly behind me.
What is this?
He's already here? When did he—?
As a chill ran down my spine at Kon's ghost-like appearance, the Ancestor spoke.
[Just tell him honestly. Whatever it is, he's pretty damn pissed.]
Yes, Ancestor.