Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 297: Convention, Day 2, Exploring

The next morning I woke up early because I was nervous about the presentation. It was not even a test, or something I could fail, but I worried anyway. Helena kept reassuring me, that was nice.

When we arrived at the convention I decided to browse some of the stalls first. Our presentation would be in the afternoon and I could just evade most questions by telling people to attend it. Also, Hatsumi and Kaito were at our stall, allowing me to walk around with less attention. Nyx was with me, lounging on my head.

I spotted a booth advertising elemental infusions. Behind the counter was a woman wearing a colorful robe. It had blue, green, white, red, golden and black elements. I suppose it was trying to represent all the affinities. As I walked to the stall I was greeted with a smile.

"Hello! Can I interest you in elemental infusions?"

"What is an elemental infusion?" I wondered.

"Ah! It is a genius method to add elemental powers to your undead!" She pulled an orange vial from underneath her counter. "See, this contains fire mana. Properly added to the raising process you can enhance your undead with it!"

I pondered that. We had done things like that, sure, but it was not quite that simple.

"You would still need a joint casting and proper way to infuse the corpse. If you put fire mana into a liquid you will need someone with a fire and a water affinity, then you need a proper corpse and a good way to incorporate it into the raising." We had done something like that with Kasai. It was interesting to see other people having similar ideas. I wondered if they knew about our circulation method.

"It is not that complex!" The woman pulled an undead rat from underneath the counter. The bones had a slight orange tint. Then she conjured a flame in her hand and held it close to the undead. "Simply dousing the bones in our solution will add significant fire resistance to your skeletons! Of course, if you wanted it to throw fireballs that would be slightly more complex. However, if you do have fire affinity, those potions will make it easier to create an elemental undead!"

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I was not very impressed. The flame did not seem too hot and I was sure my normal skeletons could have endured it. However, I had to admit that potions with some elemental mana could have their uses. Not everyone had an alchemist as a friend. And it would add more elemental mana to the process if you ran out of mana yourself.

I did not buy anything and moved on. Next I spotted a stall offering undead for training purposes. You could rent a wolf, or a humanoid, and practise fighting them. There was an additional fee if you damaged the undead. Not a bad business idea.

I continued exploring and found quite a few cleaning solutions for sale. Some even offered a cleaning service for corpses. I guess necromancers preferred their undead to not stink. I could agree with that but I felt like hiring someone to prepare your corpse was going a bit too far.

Curiously the adventurers guild had a stall as well. Behind the counter was a man looking like a guild receptionist. He immediately smiled as I approached.

"Greetings! Are you interested in the guild's corpse procurement offers? With raising demand we have decided to establish a new service! Are you looking for the corpse of a horned boar with the horn intact? Or maybe a shadow panther? For the right fee we can provide you with anything! Within reason." The man offered.

I did not laugh at his pun but it earned him a smile. "Greetings. How much would the corpse of a wolf cost?"

"Meow!" Nyx seemed to object to the canine nature of my request.

"Or the corpse of a shadow panther, since you mentioned those." I added.

The man briefly glanced at Nyx but focused on me. "Well, a normal wolf corpse goes for around two gold, depending on the damage. But they hunt in packs, meaning you could get a discount if you buy a whole pack. If you are looking for a magical kind of wolf the price rises with difficulty. A shadow panther would be at least 10 gold, in good shape, likely 15 gold."

"That is expensive!" I replied.

"Adventurers have costs as well! And if they sell an entire corpse they are not harvesting any parts from it. There is a limited number of adventurers and they will always pursue the most lucrative missions." The man explained. "Oh, and the waiting time varies based on the corpse, however it can be accelerated, for a fee."

"I see, thank you for the information." I said and moved on. It looked like I would have to get my own corpses, those costs were outrageous. The corpses would likely not be fresh and would need some alchemical enhancements too.

It was time to return to my own stall when I noticed someone in the crowd: A foxkin. Nethena did not have a lot of foxkin but that was not the intriguing part. Black ears, black tail, long black hair,... She was a dark foxkin. The only one I had ever seen, aside from myself. I tried approaching her but I lost track of her in the crowd.

Had I just imagined her? Hopefully she would visit our stall, or the presentation. Oh no, I was getting close to the presentation! I felt nervous again. There would be a lot of people watching. Hopefully it would turn out ok.