The Heart of a Lich

The Mutant Club room.

"Soldier, what do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you think of this? It's my personal recommendation."

Benya Vanilla, whom he hadn't seen in a while, was in high spirits. Clutching a 'Lich Materials List' she'd personally curated, she chattered away enthusiastically in front of Simon.

"Hmm, I'm in no rush for the frame, so I'd like to look at hearts first."

"Oh?"

Simon's preparations for creating a Lich were progressing smoothly.

He planned to build the Lich's skeleton from the Crystal Skeleton he'd obtained in the last After-School BMAT, and for the Lich's staff, he intended to somehow make do with the autonomous wand, Areldelu.

The problem was the heart. Simon looked over the items on Benya's recommended list.

Weight, output, conversion rate — there was plenty to consider. But what mattered most to Simon sat at the very bottom.

Eight thousand gold.

His entire fortune at the moment, including what he'd made selling the Gwaegong's body parts, came to about 3,000 gold.

That was a considerable sum by any standard, but it was nowhere near enough to buy a heart for a Lich. No wonder Summoning had a reputation for being a money pit.

"What's wrong?"

At Benya's question, Simon gave a sheepish answer.

"It's... a bit pricier than I expected."

"Really? This is pretty standard market price."

The heiress of a wealthy family said it like it was nothing.

There was a reason hearts suitable for crafting a Life Vessel were so expensive. Obviously, not just any heart would do.

Since it had to serve as a necromancer's Core, the heart needed genuine magical properties. In practice, hearts capable of becoming Life Vessels were treated as ultra-luxury artifacts.

"Let me look at the others too."

Simon turned to the next page of the list Benya had pulled for him.

He didn't understand all the fine details, so for now he focused on just two things: the name and the price.

The prices just keep climbing.

The 8,000-gold heart he'd seen first was effectively the floor price; most hovered in the low ten-thousands.

And the most expensive item on the entire list was—

I want it.

Just looking at the sample illustration on the list made his mouth water.

As a necromancer, of course.

According ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the picture, the heart sat in an exquisitely luxurious case, glowing with a vivid azure radiance — the kind of thing that made him feel like he could hammer it into any arrangement and still produce a supreme Lich.

But without money, it was nothing more than a picture of a cake. Simon couldn't quite let it go.

"Senior, is there any way I could make some money in a short amount of time?"

Benya raised her index finger and answered instantly.

"Mission Assessments!"

...Try as he might, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't see mission assessment fees getting him anywhere close.

Even the cheapest heart on the list required 5,000 gold more than he had — who on earth would pay a student that much for a single mission? When he'd been summoned to the royal court in Langestin at Princess Molly's request, the reward had only been 2,000 gold.

Should I ask Dick for some advice? Or take out a loan?

As Simon racked his brain, Benya clapped her knees with a smack! and shouted.

"I've got it! Perfect idea!"

Simon's head snapped up.

"What is it?"

"The Pentamonium Academic Conference is on right now!"

The Pentamonium Academic Conference was a massive event held once a year.

In short, it was a gathering where the continent's most renowned necromancers presented their research and papers and shared all manner of information. Even Professor Walter, whom Simon had been keeping an eye on, had left Roc Island for a time to attend it.

"If you've got a unique idea as a necromancer, you can write it up as a paper, have it evaluated, and register it with Pentamonium. Then you can sell it or collect royalties from other necromancers! And Kizen's about to start sending students anyway."

"You mean I'd sell my idea at the conference?"

"Exactly! If the idea's brilliant, they don't care whether you're a student or some kid off the street."

Simon felt himself being tempted.

Lately, while researching Liches, quite a few original techniques had come to him. Whether professional necromancers would actually pay for those ideas was another question, though.

"Do you go to the conference too, Senior?"

"Of course! I go every year."

she said.

"Last year, when I was a first-year, I went as Kizen's first-year Summoning representative, and I made about 4,000 gold right there on the spot with a simplified formula for Skeleton Knights."

"Whoa!"

At the figure of 4,000 gold, Simon's jaw dropped.

"It's still rolling in, too. All told, I'm up to around 6,000. What do you think?"

Simon looked at her with a serious expression.

His greatest goal at the moment was creating a Lich. For that, he was ready to do anything and everything.

"How do I get to participate in the conference?"

The next morning.

The students of Class A gathered in the Basic Dark Magic lecture hall, their faces bright with excitement.

"We finally get to see Professor Jane again!"

"About time."

Lately, Jane had been called away on one external trip after another, and Class A hadn't laid eyes on their homeroom professor in over a month.

"She's coming!"

The Class A students snapped crisply into their seats.

Moments later, accompanied by the clip-clop of heels ringing clearly down the corridor, a woman with cropped hair entered the lecture hall.

Welcome back, Professor Jane!

Simon's eyes sparkled. As always, she maintained her signature impassive expression.

"Professor! Thank goodness you're safe!"

"On behalf of our kingdom, we thank you!"

A cluster of students waiting at the front of the hall rushed over in a crowd and presented her with bouquets.

All of them were students from the Carlos Kingdom, offering their gratitude for her recent resolution of the 'Giant's Forest' incident, in which Rank 7 super-sized monsters had invaded — the story on everyone's lips of late.

Jane accepted the bouquets, returned to the podium, and faced the students.

"Class A."

Every student in the lecture hall lit up and answered, "Yes!!"

"I cannot simply let this pass without a lecture."

At some point, Jane had begun leafing through the documents in her hand.

"To think that even after my absence, ten students have still failed to secure all five of their BMAT cards. I find these results disappointing."

Not a word about being glad to see them after so long.

"Why is the Toxicology performance evaluation such a disaster? You should all consider it a disgrace that Class B is outperforming us."

Sure enough, a storm of Jane-style scolding followed. Watching her unleash all the lectures she'd been storing up, the students quietly laughed to themselves.

Only after thoroughly shredding the students' mental state did Jane move on to a new announcement.

"You are all aware, I trust, of the Pentamonium Academic Conference — the matter dominating the news of late."

"Of course,"

she began.

"This year as well, Kizen will be dispatching students to the paper presentation session. The topic is free choice, and two students per subject will attend from each first-year year. Are there any applicants?"

At those words, the lecture hall fell into silence.

Going to Pentamonium as a Kizen representative was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a matter of family pride, but having to present one's own paper before an audience of spectators and authorities and undergo their judgment was a considerable burden.

Besides, everyone was already swamped preparing for performance evaluations.

Just as they were all busy watching each other—

Thunk!

A single hand shot up, as if it had been waiting for this exact moment. Every gaze in the room turned toward it.

"Simon Polentia. You wish to participate in the conference?"

"Yes!"

Everything had worked out exactly as Benya promised, so Simon answered without a moment's hesitation.

"If your preparation for performance evaluations, finals, or graduation exams is lacking, the school will not force you to participate. Surviving here at Kizen takes priority over any external engagement."

"I will, of course, have my academic schedule fully in order as well!"

Jane nodded with satisfaction.

"The field would be a Summoning-related paper, correct?"

"Yes, that's what I'd like to present."

Jane personally checked the box with her quill and handed the paperwork off to the TA.

"Whoa! You're seriously going?"

Dick popped his head out from the row behind him. Meilin and Camibarez turned to look at Simon as well.

"Amazing, Simon! A paper presentation at the conference, and you're only a first-year!"

"The academic schedule's packed, though. You sure you can handle it?"

"I'm fine."

Simon answered with an easy smile.

"Honestly, I've already got an idea in mind, so all I have to do is write it down."

All he had to do was present the paper, collect his money, and come home. The schedule was three days and two nights, weekend included — hardly a burden at all.

It felt like a trip that promised far more gain than loss.

Nail down the heart on this trip, and it's done! I WILL build my Lich before second year — no matter what!

The feeling of charging straight toward a goal was always a pleasant one.

Time flew by.

Simon didn't spend all that much time preparing his paper for the conference. It was a technique he'd already used once, and its polish was high.

All that remained was to put everything down in writing.

One last hurdle still awaited him. Every paper was required to receive editing and approval from the professor of its subject field.

If the professor judged the paper substandard, attending the conference became impossible.

Having finished his morning classes, Simon was walking toward Aaron's research office.

Right, one more person is coming today.

There would be at least two first-year Summoning presenters. They would presumably be spending the entire three-day, two-night conference together.

They said it wouldn't be Toto or Fitzgerald, though.

Who would it be? They'd be coming for their own editing session, so he'd find out soon enough.

Before long, Simon arrived at the now-familiar door of Aaron's research office and gave it a light knock with the back of his hand.

"Professor Aaron. It's Simon Polentia."

Permission to enter drifted through the door. Simon opened it and stepped inside.

...Huh?

Someone had arrived before him.

He could only see their back, but the long hair and skirt marked the visitor as a girl.

"Perfect timing. Come in."

Aaron's voice barely registered in Simon's ears.

No way.

A slender girl, hands clasped behind her back, her gorgeous honey-gold hair sweeping with every slight movement.

She turned around, rounded her eyes, and smiled.

"Oh my, we meet again~ Simon!"

None other than Serne Eindark.

Surprise and bewilderment mingled on Simon's face.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? Obviously—"

She gave a little 'ta-da!' with her mouth and held up the paper in her hand.

"As a proud Summoning-department hopeful, I'm off to present a paper at the conference."

And with that, she winked adorably with one eye.

"What a coincidence, hm?"

No, the more I think about it, the less this feels like a coincidence.

Simon forced a stiff smile and waved a hand.

"You two know each other? Convenient."

Aaron said this, then glanced at his wristwatch.

"Wait a moment. One more is expected."

"Wait, the three of us are going together?"

"That's how it's been decided."

Aaron replied, wearing a somewhat disgruntled expression for some reason.

Just then — knock, knock — came the sound of knocking.

"Right on time. Come in."

Click.

The door swung open, and the third participant revealed themselves.