Chapter 158: A Moment of Brilliance

Thursday, Day 76:

Today was the sixth championship, and Tom Nguyen won, defeating Evelyn in the final. The key to Tom’s victory was his second undead: a powerful orc. To be fair, the number advantage was not the only reason. Countless rich individuals had already reached the apprentice limit of 10 undead, and most didn’t even finish in the top 10. However, it’s different when a talent like Tom has the numbers advantage.

With perfect control of the Flame Tiger and the Orc, plus support from other necromantic spells, he dominated the competition, beating Zane in the semi-finals and Evelyn in the finals—even though she fully displayed the power of her new arcane focus. Meanwhile, Zane finished third; the Sergeant placed fourth; Keesha followed behind him, and Evans rose from 10th to 7th.

"I was so close to winning my first championship, but you had to ruin it," Evelyn said with gritted teeth.

"I deserve this victory. So, try next time."

"I’ll remember you." Evelyn decided she must win a championship no matter what. So, for the next two weeks, she’ll train and plan for everything. Nothing can stop her. Meanwhile, Zane was also planning how to increase his battle prowess. His issue remained the same: a lack of variety. After watching the videos the instructor sent him, he now understood his and others’ fighting styles better, but that didn’t change the fact that he had only five spells, and many of them overlapped in function.

"There are less than 20 days before the Analyst Test. Once that’s done, I can focus on increasing my spell arsenal."

Tom Nguyen’s dominance did not stop at the tournament. During the Elite Class, he used his new undead and battle patterns to defeat the orc easily, and his win rate soon caught up to Zane’s. Everyone realized Tom Nguyen might be the first person to reach Stage 4. Zane’s competitive nature kicked in immediately, and he vowed to maintain his dominance.

As the group was walking to their dorm after class, Keesha couldn’t help but comment: "You love complaining about how unfair things are. Don’t you think it’s unfair to have such an advantage?"

"How is it unfair? Necromancy is all about using number advantage."

"So hypocritical."

Tom Nguyen sneered. "Will you complain about unfairness when facing a Demon Necromancer?"

Keesha glared at him, and Tom Nguyen returned the favor.

"Tom makes a good point," Zane said. "The skill difference between necromancers is truly astonishing. Many people control five times as many undead as he does, but in direct confrontation, they are like paper against a gun. If the skill gap is so terrifying, you can imagine how much wider it will be compared to the Elite Demon Race, who are bred for war and battle."

"...You really had to say something that sends us into an existential crisis?" Evelyn asked.

"I’m not trying to fearmonger. I want to warn you guys, maybe, to start thinking or preparing for how we’re going to deal with these Elite Demons."

"That could be an interesting thought exercise," Evelyn said, nodding. "My first instinct is to use Light Magic Scroll to purify these abominations —"

"Hey."

Evelyn ignored Tom’s protest. "However, I’ll limit myself to my magic. I could use the Earth Burial Spell to seal them deep underground and isolate them from their master."

"There is a Mental Severing Spell that can cut the connection between an undead and its master, but it’s a 1-ring spell," Keesha added. "I could use the lesser version, Mental Disturbance, to confuse the undead and delay the execution of any orders from its master."

"For me, the Dark Spell, Corrupting Undead, can turn their number advantage against them, but that’s also a 1-ring spell. I could follow Keesha’s example and use Dark Mental Disturbance, but the best approach might be the spell, Fear Awakening."

"Unead don’t feel fear," Tom Nguyen immediately said.

"They usually don’t feel fear. But if the spell is potent enough, it can awaken emotions from their past selves. And in those cases, the potency of the emotion is even more intense than in a living creature."

"That’s an interesting approach," Zane said. "So, you’re basically forcing the undead into a state of psychosis?"

"Psychosis might not be the exact word I’m going for, but it’s the general idea. Make them feel things they couldn’t before; make them question their mind, reality, and even their sense of self."

Tom Nguyen frowned. "You think one spell can achieve all that?"

"That’s why I chose Fear Awakening instead of something like Fear Aura. The latter imposed fear on someone else, while the former awakens the deepest fear in the undead’s soul, forcing an internal struggle."

"I must say: that’s quite a brilliant approach," Zane stated. "But can we go even further? Can we awaken an undead’s past consciousness and force it to realize its current situation? Or better yet, make it so empathetic that it refuses its master’ orders on moral or ethical grounds?"

"This approach might work for undead that were previously sentient, but not for those magical beasts who rely purely on instinct," Tom Nguyen added.

"Not to mention, I don’t think such a spell exists," Evans continued. "At least, I’m not aware of it."

"Then make one."

"Jesus fucking Christ."

"Ahhh."

Bang!

Instructor Seiya calmly blocked Zane’s staff, while his eyes remained fixed on Evans. "Spells are created to fix issues. Do you understand what that means?"

"Um, no."

"It means that they are not constant; they are a product of individuals who wish to solve a problem — the key word here is solving a problem. Everyone solves problems differently, even uniquely; you have a different approach to solving the issue of the undead. Are you going to stop because no spell exists? Or are you satisfied with only using already existing solutions?"

"N-No, I’m not."

Instructor Seiya stared at him for a good few seconds before shifting his eyes to Tom Nguyen. "All life that has a soul is capable of empathy; that goes for animals and magical beasts. Don’t let any preconceived notion you have of magical beasts turn into a bias; you cannot underestimate their potential as an enemy or as an undead."

Tom Nguyen furrowed his brow for a moment, then nodded.

"Your turn. What’s your solution to the number advantage?"

"My solution is very direct: either use large area spells or fight fire with fire with spells like Clay Soldier. Since they want to use large numbers, I can too."

"As pragmatic as ever," Instructor Seiya commented. "Alright, you can leave." As the group hurried away, Seiya activated his soul crest to give them extra academy points.

"What was that about?" Ms. Luna asked.

"Evans Aaranson — his performance has been mediocre, right?"

"According to his profile, he’s a bit lazy compared to the others, indecisive, lacks focus, cannot commit to one thing for an extended period, and lives in the shadow of his family."

"But today, I saw a hint of brilliance."

"It could be a one-time thing," Ms. Luna said. As someone with S-class talent and a member of the Elite Class, Evans could be considered one of the elite 1% of Earth Mages. Unfortunately, he is surrounded by individuals who shone so brightly that they make him look dull.

"True," Instructor Seiya said. Throughout his life, he had met countless mages, people who had one moment of brilliance and never repeated it. Some use that single moment to secure financial security for the rest of their life. "But just in case it’s not, let’s put a bit more focus on him."

"Alright."

"Also, please send them videos on how to deal with undead."

...

"How many points did you guys receive?" Tom Nguyen asked.

"150."

"Same."

"Why did I only get 50?"

"You didn’t answer the question."

Tom couldn’t argue with that answer since he was just playing devil’s advocate. "Zane, what did you get?"

"200."

"Of course you did," Tom Nguyen said, rolling his eyes.

"I got 300," Evans said, smiling widely.

"Congrats," Zane said. He thought Evans’ answer deserved such a reward, maybe even more.

"Yes, congrats."

"Thank you."