The Villain's Story

Chapter 988: An Unemployed Lich(2).

[An Introduction to the wonders of Necromancy, By Arch Lich Jahal of the House of Death.]

Alan stared at the tome in front of him. It was quite a thick book, one he was certain he would never read. Furthermore, he was also certain it was far longer than the thickness suggested, courtesy of magic.

He focused more on the name of the author, an Arch Lich, a Legendary ranked being belonging to his house. The tome was most certainly a side project of a bored lich, however, how had it gotten into a dungeon?

The Arch Lich should still be alive, they were effectively immortal, after all. Unless he perished in the recent conflict with the god beasts, though. Thankfully, Valus was there to fill him in.

Jahal is still alive, he’s more of a scholarly type and his main duty is to take care of the Library.

‘So how did a book written by him end up in a dungeon?’

The Weave cherishes all Legendary beings, it views them as precious children it hopes would reach the Mythical rank. It is also interested in spreading their legacies as far as they can. The tome is a copy of the original, which is still in the Library.

Jahal most likely wrote it for his own disciples within the House of Death, once he hears that the Weave took it upon itself to make a copy and spread it… The Arch Lich will be overjoyed.

Just as Alan was about to use [Dragon Eyes] to glean more information about the book, Jyle began to talk.

“Back then, the demons were like gods, so could imagine my shock when the book talked about beings much higher?”

The fire in his eyes turned… lackluster, for some reason. Alan looked at him, urging him to continue. Jyle happily obliged.

“They wielded outlandish power, capable of tearing a building down with a single swipe of their hands, so could you imagine my shock when the book gave me an introduction of the various powerhouses of the Universe at large? The Houses of the Dragons, The Clans of the God Beasts, The Alliance, which we came to know of later and many more?

I thought it was all fantasy, but then, after all, Who would believe there existed something that could wipe out a galaxy with a single breath? Sure, I lived in a time where demons and magical beasts existed capable of threatening cities… but a galaxy was a step too far, no?

I began to skip through the introduction, through the useless information and focused more on the Necromancy part. Frankly, the rules were infuriating to me. True necromancers were… rare back then, I guess? I recall a few folks among both humans and demons capable of using Undead and curses… But the book carefully laid out a set of rules for me to strictly follow, so that I would not incur the wrath of Death herself.

I was not allowed to use souls of civilians, only of those who picked a fight with me first, or those of Tyrants, of those that threatened the sanctity of life. I couldn’t go on a slaughter and add more undead to my numbers. And even when I followed the rules, I was supposed to keep only the bare minimum allowed for me to create an undead or for other uses. The other would go to Death herself, as the sacred nature of souls should only be entrusted to her and her forgotten son…”

Jyle stopped for a moment, as the fire in his eyes began to flicker. It grew in power, and if he still had a face, Alan was certain he would be smiling ear to ear.

“But I was weak back then, and afraid. I was a coward that just did as he was told, and for the first time in my life, I was glad I was a pussy. I followed the rules as best as I could in that era, and created undead, curses, and whatever the book taught me that a beginner necromancer could do.

It was difficult, beyond difficult. It took me ten times the amount of effort to create a single undead, while others could create ten from the corpses of their enemies with a single skill. I struggled with it, but mine were… more powerful?

They were faster, stronger, and more durable. They would listen well to my commands and could evolve into many, many things. Something the other undead could not do. To my shock, I found out that the system congratulated my efforts, giving me titles and other skills.

The book was right, the book was power! And when I tasted the power it could bring me, as long as I followed the rules… I began to look at the introduction again. I learned many names, of those who followed in the same path, and of powers beyond my wildest belief.”

He looked up to the ceiling, and chuckled.

“And so, armed with the knowledge that the demons that ruled over us were just the runt of the litter… I rebelled, alone. I spent months, years even, rampaging dungeons, breaking my mind over and over again to create even more powerful undead, ones that were the standard of the House of Death… and when I believed myself ready, I sought to enlighten others, but none listened.

The cowards thought it was fine to live as slaves, so I let them be. I rebelled alone, my armies rose from the dungeons, from the grounds I stored them in, and overwhelmed the demons. I fought at the forefront, as any lich should, and I took my city back. I killed the demons who tormented us, gave back most of their souls to her highness Death, and kept the bare minimum required to turn them into my soldiers.

I stood at the top of the city, surrounded by fire and corpses too ruined to become undead, and then, I was rewarded. The system recognized my efforts, it awarded me the title of Necromancer, and the book finally became bound to me, and everything else… the entire city, was mine to rule, and I have done so since then.”