Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 299: Convention, Day 2, A Break

We managed to leave the hall without too much trouble. Of course, people still wanted to talk but Kaito and Hatsumi kept the crowd at bay.

Technically the convention was still open but I decided to call it a day. Instead we left and went back to our hotel. It was a bit early for dinner but a nice refreshing drink and a snack felt right.

"Welcome back, my ladies. How may I serve you?" Christa greeted us.

"The ladies would like a table, some beers and possibly a light snack." Kaito replied.

"Of course." Christa replied. "Follow me."

We sat outdoors in the shade of a tree. The weather was sunny and hot, just right for a nice cold beer. I started to relax.

"So, who was the guy with the knight?" Cassie wondered.

"I believe that was Albert Reaper. I would expect him to visit your stall tomorrow." Kaito replied.

My eyes widened. "Wow. So there was an undead in that armour?"

"Probably yes." Kaito said.

"Oh, is that why Leo walks around with an armoured skeleton? He is trying to imitate Albert Reaper?" Helena wondered.

"Probably." Skadi agreed.

Christa returned with drinks and snacks. She brought a plate with a variety of cheeses, some cured meats and some nice freshly baked pretzels.

"I bet there is something more exciting than a skeleton in there. Maybe I can ask to have a look?" I wondered, while having a sip.

Hatsumi smiled. "Mistress, I doubt that he will deny the necromancer who has created the first vampire spellblade. I assume he will seek a private audience at some point."

"Speaking of more exciting undead, I would have expected more tier three undead. You do see quite a few tier twos or tier ones but that's it." Cassie said.

I pondered that. "Hm, it's not always easy to spot a tier three but you are right. A senior mage should be enough for a tier three. Actually, even Gronir does not have one currently, although he did have a tier three in the past. I wonder why?"

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"Tier three undead can fulfill complex tasks. It is possible that most necromancers have them working independently. Or they consider the mana upkeep too high." Kaito theorised.

"But I have 6 tier three now and plenty of mana left. Sure, I might be at the edge of becoming a grand mage but a tier three should not be that bad for a senior mage." I did feel the upkeep of my undead and certainly my tier threes were more expensive but it was not that bad.

"You are exceptionally talented." Hatsumi replied.

I frowned. That could not be the answer, right?

"And you do have a strong team. Necromancy is not the most popular school of magic. Having access to friends with other affinities helped you a lot but might be hard to come by for many. Further, Cassie is a talented alchemist and the school has helped you because of your massive potential. Finding a suitable corpse for a tier three can be a challenge." Kaito added.

"I suppose." I was not entirely convinced but they did have a point.

"And you feed your undead snacks." Skadi added, while snacking on some cheese.

"Meow." The cats agreed.

I looked at Nyx. "You think the secret to more tier three undead is snacks."

Nyx nodded.

"I don't think you can be trusted when it comes to snacks." I replied. Then I handed her a small bone.

Yoru got some cheese from Helena while Kasai and Ivy got a piece of meat. Why the cats basically ate anything was still a mystery. Kaito and Hatsumi showed no interest in most mortal foods.

"You know, I did not notice Leo today." I just realised.

"He was in the back of the hall and it looked like he had quite a few people talking to him after the presentation." Helena said.

"Oh, but something I did notice was a dark foxkin. Not at the presentation but earlier. Did any of you see her?" I wondered.

"No. Did you talk to her?" Helena asked.

"I lost her in the crowd…" I replied.

"If she has an interest in necromancy she is going to find you. And we will all keep an eye out for her tomorrow." Hatsumi reassured me.

I nodded, while Helena patted me on the back.

"Hey, something else. We have two goblin corpses, right? Did you not want to use them for something?" Skadi asked.

"Oh, right. I forgot about those corpses. I did not really need them, Gronir had some undead for the presentation. Maybe we will just add them to our platoon." I replied.

"If I may, I have a suggestion." Kaito said. "Your discovery might allow you to raise more unique undead. Have you considered trying to modify them during the raising?"

"Hm." I took a long sip from my beer while pondering that. I thought back to all of my, well our, creations. Then it hit me. "You know, I think I might have been doing that all along. When we raised Frank I did not use a spell for a draugr. I used a normal raise dead spell and we added the water and so on, but was that all? I thought I made some of the runes more efficient, maybe, what if I did more on instinct? I have often changed things slightly because they felt right…"

"Imagine what you can do if you change things on purpose!" Helena suggested.

"We should definitely study more runes and see what you can do." Cassie agreed.

"Perhaps you could design undead for a special battlefield purpose?" Kaito suggested. "Durable fighters in the front, more mobile fighters for flanking,..."

"Perhaps an assassin." Hatsumi added.

"I believe a tier two assassin would not be that effective. Adding a tier three one would be beneficial." Kaito stated.

"Um, any of you could be an assassin. Honestly, the cats could easily sneak in somewhere and take them out. Nyx is clearly an undead but the others could easily pose as normal cats." I pointed out.

"True, but their main duty is to protect all of you." Kaito said.

"It's not like we need an assassin. But I can get behind the idea to design more tier twos for a special purpose." I kind of liked the idea. Experimenting with undead was always fun.