"M-My lord!" Jawsmine and Footunia exclaimed simultaneously.

Wisteria didn't turn around.

Being looked down upon by the Necromancer was even more intimidating than he had expected--- perhaps the a result of knowing too much about his future.

The Necromancer's gaze traveled from his frozen subordinates at the gate, to the pile of dust that used to be several hundreds of feet and lower mandibles, and then to the one responsible for all the destruction.

"You did this, sorcerer?"

Wisteria clenched his fist. He knew he shouldn't show weakness to his enemies, especially him. And thinking about it, Wisteria's magic should be as powerful as his. If he could find an opening, he should be able to escape.

He turned around to face his archenemy, and clenched his teeth to look at him in the eye.

"...!" His eyes grew wide. He was taller than he thought. The Necromancer was at least a head taller than him, and he himself was already considered above average! He wore a white, long cape over his pristine white suit, decorated with golden thread and buttons. If it wasn't for the bizarreness of the featureless face, he'd look more like an angel than a dark lord!

"No answer?"

"I-I did!" Wisteria blurted, "But it's not that I had a choice. I was suddenly attacked by a horde of bones, so I had to defend myself!"

"I wouldn't say it was completely unprovoked, since you destroyed one of my security spells and attempted to enter my domain."

"I had no intention to trespass."

"Then, tell me, what did you come here for?"

"I--"

"Depending on your answer, I'll have to kill you. So I suggest you think carefully."

"...?" Wisteria paused, perplexed. "Then, depending on my answer, do you want me to lie?"

"...!" The Necromancer hesitated, "...No, it's a warning."

"..." He didn't think the Necromancer would actually answer his question. However, this gave him a glimpse of hope and an idea to get out of there.

"I..." Wisteria continued, "I came here in hopes that you could help me with runic magic. You see, I'm pretty good with standard Mana magic, but I don't get how runic magic works. And I heard you're one of the best in the kingdom."

"So, what. You want me to mentor you?"

"Yes! Please be my mentor!"

"No."

"..." Of course he'd refuse. Wisteria, however, wasn't disappointed, but rather anxious.

What else could he say?

Should he beg?

He heard the Necromancer sigh.

"Show me a counter to the rune inscriptions surrounding you." He said, pointing at the red circle of runic symbols, "I'll consider it if you manage to undo at least a portion of it."

"..." In other words, he was giving him the chance to get out with his own skills. That is, if he doesn't die from an error's rebound. "Very well."

Wisteria crouched down and paused, staring at the soil by his feet. He pressed his fist to his lips, rummaging through his brain to find the appropriate symbols to begin. The Necromancer's presence did not aid with the already stressful situation, but he had no other option but to try.

Hesitantly, he drew his hand from his mouth towards the ground. He scribbled symbols from left to right, writing about five long lines of runes--- a full paragraph's length!

Shortly, Wisteria hesitantly wrote the last symbols, and as he completed the counter runes, he didn't notice the Necromancer's fingers twitch.

Wisteria felt pretty confident about his work and exhaled in relief. He stood back on his feet and nipped on his thumb, letting a drop of blood build on the surface. All he had to do was to let the blood drip into the inscription, and the runes would activate.

Just as he was tilting his hand, he heard his surroundings crack and shatter------ the Necromancer's rune was deactivated!

He lifted his head in surprise, and caught the blur of a white figure dash towards him. His wrist was suddenly wrapped into a tight grip, and his whole arm swung upwards.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" The louring voice of the Necromancer pierced his ear.

"What--- What are you doing? You're stepping over my inscriptions!"

"The moment you dripped your blood on these inscriptions, you would have activated all of the offensive spells from my runes."

"Oh..." Wisteria finally realized.

The Necromancer saved his life!?

"It was the final symbols, right?" Wisteria curiously asked.

"Yes," The Necromancer replied, "And a few in the middle."

"I missed the middle, too!?" Out of disbelief and pride, Wisteria forgot about his fear for his enemy, that he looked straight into where the Necromancer's eyes would be.

The Necromancer nodded disdainfully, having no need to rely on words.

Wisteria felt oddly sad, almost as if he had disappointed an actual teacher-- something he'd never felt with Oleander.

"I see..." Wisteria sighed, then looked up at his arm, "By the way, I understand you don't want me to escape, but could you please lower my arm? I'm getting sore..."

As if touching something boiling hot, the Necromancer released his grip and took a few large steps back. Wisteria didn't think he'd react so excessively and was taken aback.

Why would he let go of his hand? Being freed, he'd could easily teleport out of there. And putting such a distance away from him-- was he actually being careful not to hurt him?

According to the Novel, the Necromancer had a complication with his Mana. Because of constant usage of necromancy, the Mana inside him was corrupted. He could use Mana spells as any normal sorcerer, but the Mana would unintentionally leak out of his body, injuring and occasionally killing living things near him. That was the reason why the Necromancer grew obsessed with the protagonist, because her healing magic made her immune to his Mana.

Being the villain of the story, he shouldn't care about harming those who got in his way. But at that moment, that same villain was being considerate and stepped away!?

"I'll do it."

"What?"

"I'll mentor you. But don't expect too much."

"WHAT!?" With yet another uncharacteristic response from the Necromancer, Wisteria was in disbelief.

"What?"

"No... That's..." He forced a smile, "I didn't expect you to agree..."

He sighed. "One more thing. You must follow two rules if you want my help: Never step too close to me or touch me, and you must never mention this arrangement to anyone. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes, t-teacher!"

Of course Wisteria was confident that he could follow those rules-- because he had no intention of studying under him at all. His priority was to get out of there alive, and he was so close! All he had to do was agree, nod, and smile until the Necromancer was done talking.

"Raise your hand. Any hand will do."

"Y-yes, teacher!" He raised his right hand automatically, smiling the most lively, and the most pretentious smile he's ever done.

TAP. ZAP!

"!!!???" Wisteria felt a drop of warm liquid fall onto his skin and quickly withdrew his hand from the air. A drop of blood trailed down from his wrist to his elbow pit, and a small golden vertical rune inscription had been inscribed where the blood first landed. The inscription gradually faded away, as if sinking deeper into his skin.

"That's for communication purposes. Whenever you are coming over, let me know beforehand."

"...Yes... teacher..."

Now he wouldn't be able to bail on this! Runes could be tracked down by the casters, no matter the distance...

"And call me Sylvan." The Necromancer corrected, "What should I call you?"

"... Wisteria."

"Very well, Wisteria. You may go."

Shortly after the rare visitor had left, the Necromancer cleaned up the entrance area and headed straight back into the portal. Jawsmine and Footunia watched in silence, and waited until their lord was out of ear's reach.

"Our lord seems to be in a good mood." Footunia whispered just in case, "Even though he had to re-cast all defense spells back in place, he didn't make that young sorcerer pay."

"Yeah, that's strange..."

"Do you think our workload will decrease now that our lord has taken in a mentee?"

"Maybe?" Jawsmine pondered, "We could make that young sorcerer use his magic to help with chores. Since we've been with our lord first, we're essentially his seniors."

"Nice one, Jawsmine. You come up with great ideas once in a while."

"Now, I totally agree with you on this, Footunia. Hahaha!"

The two skeleton subordinates walked into the portal, which closed behind them.