Kaz had never felt the touch of magic before, so the new sensations running through his body interested him to no end. It was to Kaz’s great disappointment that he had no real knowledge of how to use his magic.

{Bah…..granting you the gift of magic has drained me of what little magical energy I had left. All I can do now is speak, and hopefully you understand something.} Ahriman hissed in a rather downtrodden manner.

“So….how does this magic thing work? Do I point my fingers and chant some weird words?” Kaz at least, was shamelessly excited. All he had ever heard about magic involved legendary magisters and their adventures across the continent.

{Listen carefully, I will not explain this another time.} Ahriman braced himself for the long winded lecture that he was about to deliver. This reminds me of when my first master taught me about the ways of the Necromancer, Ahriman mused to himself.

{Necromancers may draw on three types of magical power. The first and most commonly known type is Personal Magic Power. This is the type of power that limits…those puffed up magisters over at the Arcane Library. It is innate and once your magical development finishes developing, cannot increase. However, given time, your magical energy pool will restore itself. How long this takes depends on how much magical power you have. Smaller pools replenish themselves faster while larger pools take more time to restore themselves. I have given you a small pool of this power, but it is only enough to allow use of three of the most basic spells. Since your magical development has long finished, this will be the extent of your power. Limited to this power alone, you are no better than a near useless hedge wizard.}

“Please tell me the other two types will do more for me…” Kaz was clearly disappointed to hear that by conventional means, his power was no match for even the weakest magister apprentice.

{I’m getting to it. Just shut your mouth and listen. The second type is Death Energy. Death Energy cannot replenish itself and you cannot store it. It is released whenever anything living dies. Death energy lingers near a corpse for up to an hour before dissipating completely. It is at its most powerful the moment immediately after someone dies, weakening before finally disappearing. The amount of energy released across species is constant, but the death energy of humans may be increased if the person who dies suffers extreme pain before dying. Physical or mental anguish, it does not particularly matter. I will teach you to control this when we have a suitable opportunity.}

{And finally, the third and final type of magical energy is Soul Power. This type of power is the bread and butter of any Necromancer. It is the foundation of every Necromancer’s power. Soul Power is generated by souls. Any soul carries Soul Power, but the souls of exceptional people have greater capacity. Soul Power is like Magical Power, but is carried by souls. It will replenish itself depending on its innate capacity. However, you can increase your pool of soul power by enslaving spirits and binding them to your own soul.}

!!! Kaz’s face lit up, then darkened as he understood the taboo behind Necromancy. It is indeed a perverse action to hold souls in bondage even after the release of death…but I need the power that it offers.

Oblivious to the internal struggle going on within Kaz, Ahriman blithely continued.

{I had a collection of souls numbering in the thousands, with quite a few of them extracted from powerful magisters who lived long before you were even born. Ugh. I can’t control your body nor was my soul collection compatible with your body, so I ended up losing all of my souls. Again, I will teach you to sense and use this power when the opportunity presents. However, I can still form a mental connection with you and teach you some normal spells to protect yourself with. I can’t have you dying on me like you almost did.} Ahriman concentrated and with a thought forced himself into Kaz’s mind.

Sharp pain quickly knocked Kaz into a fetal position onto the forest floor, before quickly disappearing. Kaz saw several magical incantations flash before his eyes in quick succession, then the pressure pounding at his temple receded as Ahriman left Kaz’s mind.

{I have given you the necessary incantations for two E rank spells. Ranks go from E --> D--> C-->B-->A-->S. Spells are ranked in terms of power expended. Try the first spell over on that tree.}

Kaz’s brow furrowed as he concentrated on the memory of the first incantation. Nothing happened for a moment, then a rush of power shot through his arm as he pointed his hand at a tree.

Kaz was elated as magic gathered in the palm of his hand, and was cast. Power condensed a short distance away from Kaz’s palm, then shot forward. The projectile was nearly a meter long, made up of a brilliantly shining ice with a point honed to a keen edge. Drilling a hole in the trunk of the tree, the spear lodged itself firmly and the sheer cold of the spear caused frost to form on the tree’s bark.

{Hmm that’s better than I had expected for your first time. But feel your magical power, feel what has been used. You need to know you limits, and to be careful not to run out of power.}

Kaz concentrated, and felt that a third of his magical power had been used up in using that one spell. With a frown, Kaz asked “What happens when you use up all of your magical energy, and try to use another spell? Would a magister die from going over their limit?”

Ahriman snorted at Kaz’s question. {No, are you an idiot? What happens when you do too many push-ups and try to do one more? You just can’t. You fall down because your muscles refuse to budge. In magical terms, your palm would just fizzle a bit and nothing would happen. Of course, this would leave you really vulnerable to other threats. That, not the fear of dying from overextending mana, is why using all of your magical energy is dangerous. What a ridiculous idea, dying from exhausting magical power hahaha}

His face burning with embarrassment, Kaz stayed silent for a moment.

“Master Ahriman, shouldn’t we find an opportunity to teach me about how to use Death Energy and Soul Power?”

{Hmm…yes. I believe that your education will indeed need to be accelerated since you have started so late. I feel the traces of a skirmish happening towards the north. If you hurry you might arrive in time to see its conclusion.}

Kaz started walking quickly to the north, but bent down to pick up one of the dead soldier’s broadsword. Fastening the weapon with scabbard to his belt, Kaz readjusted the belt to his comfort and sped off towards the direction that Ahriman indicated.

{Try to feel the energies of the soldiers for yourself. Reserve a portion of your magic to scouting purposes. In this way you should never be ambushed by normal people unless they know ways of circumventing your magical net. Which, seeing as how the vast majority of humans aren’t magisters, scouting with magic should be enough.}

Following Ahriman’s advice, Kaz shot out a mist of magical power to the north. Almost immediately, he could sense two men in a duel. Kaz broke into a run, eager to observe the fight for himself. Ahriman chuckled to himself. It seems the boy has quite the morbid curiosity when it comes to violence not involving himself. I wonder if he will be able to keep his mood when I show him how Soul Power is actually gathered.

As Kaz moved closer to the scene of battle, the stench of blood grew stronger. Curiously to Kaz, he could sense another type of energy besides normal magical power. This new power seemed heavy, as if laden with something unknown. Interestingly, this power was collected in pockets of energy near the dead bodies of the soldiers. This must be Death Energy.

The two swordsman in the forest were still exchanging blows and parries with one another. They seemed to be evenly matched. One was wearing the colors of Janaro, while the other was wearing the colors of Klavan.

{Focus on the Death Energies, use that to power the second incantation that I taught you. Use the spell on one of the soldiers, it matters not which one you choose.} Ahriman urged Kaz. He seemed almost….excited to see the impending death of a person.

Kaz concentrated just out of sight of the whirling storm of steel ten meters away. He maneuvered himself so that the back of the Janaroian soldier was facing him. Raising his hand, Kaz slowly manipulated the pocket of death energy nearest the enemy soldier.

{Any year now, apprentice} Ahriman sneered to show his impatience. Kaz’s eyes flashed, he consumed the death energy a eldritch chill assaulted the soldier as was cast.

The Janaroian soldier instantly felt the effects of the spell as his body went numb. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he failed to block the deadly lunge that the Klavan swordsman unleashed to take advantage of his weakness. Seeing that his opponent was finished, the Klavan soldier had a clear view of Kaz. Narrowing his eyes, he charged straight at Kaz.

“Filthy Janaroian magister, I should kill you now before you have a chance to do me in too.” Snarling, the Klavan swordsman stabbed at Kaz.

But I’m Klavan, wh-what…oh no I need to--- Panicking, Kaz involuntarily raised his hand and cast to defend himself.

*Whisssh. Thunk* Kaz’s spell pierced the swordsman’s leather armor and peaked out of his back. Mortally wounded, the Klavan man could do nothing but glare hatefully as he collapsed in a pool of his own blood.

I….killed a man. I killed a Klavan person. I killed a Klavan person I killedIkilledIkilledIkilled his thoughts in turmoil, Kaz could barely stand.

“Ughkkhuaa” Kaz retched was he sought to contain his regret and disgust.

{Quick! Stop whining. Feel the souls of the two men you just killed. It won’t be there for long.} Ahriman mercilessly goaded Kaz to take advantage of what he just did. {There will scarcely be a safer opportunity than this to learn how to enslave a soul. I will teach you the necessary incantation.}

Kaz barely felt anything as Ahriman invaded his mind once more, for he was still in shock after causing the deaths of two people. A short incantation was burned into his memory. Kaz’s mind jolted as he now could feel a third type of energy. There were only two in the nearby vicinity, and he felt as if they were about to leave. Quickly, Kaz used the remaining magic power that he had to cast the third spell .

Two dense pockets of power shot towards Kaz, and bound themselves to his power. Memories flashed through Kaz’s mind.

The salty scent of a lake so vast one could not see the end of it.

My mother’s face, smiling proudly as I received my sword from the squad leader.

Extreme sorrow, as the news came that pirates had boarded and killed my brother’s ship.

Anger at the bar maiden for spurring my advances. Frustration that she gave a sly smile to my comrade-in-arms.

Kaz was bombarded with flashes of the memories contained in the two souls he had bound to himself. In a small voice, he asked Ahriman

“Is it…always like this? When you enslave a soul?”

{Always like this. But I do not know if it is a blessing or curse that it gets easier. This is why Necromancers require an immense willpower. How easy would it be to get lost in the memories of those you have enslaved? How many lifetimes would it take to relive every moment of those people’s lives? No secret is safe, no memory is sacred. Necromancers hold ultimate power over the souls that they collect. In a way, Necromancers are like historians, they have the potential to carry the souls and wills of thousands of individuals. Even if one’s descendants do not remember, the Necromancer holding the soul will. We borrow the power of these souls forcefully, and so because of this we carry the responsibility to never forget them.}

Kaz slowly nodded, this price weighed heavily on him but it was something he was willing to pay in order to gain power.

{Oh, in addition to adding souls to your collection, when used on Death Energy becomes . This allows you to replenish your magical power pool before, during, and after any fight. I suggest you do it now just to practice.} Ahriman seemed more somber after revealing the philosophy behind .

Kaz looked to the lingering Death Energies, cast , and felt his magical power pool filling up to the brim. Satisfied, both master and apprentice turned and headed down the forest path to the plains proper.