Early that morning, the Necromancy Department students hurried out of bed and headed toward the Darkness Department's teaching building. Jack was panicking and looked thoroughly unwilling, but after hearing Han Shuo's plan, he thought about how Han Shuo was avenging him. If even someone as weak and timid as Han Shuo was not afraid, could he really be worse than Brian? In the end, Jack agreed.
Along a bluestone path stood many stone statues of outstanding graduates from generations of the Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts. The statues were enormous, each carved with lifelike detail. The people they depicted were the pride of the Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts.
One of Brian's jobs was to clean the dust off these enormous statues. He had dragged his thin little body through this work since he was about ten. Brian had been even shorter then and had needed to carry a small ladder around just to struggle through the task. Otherwise, he would have nothing to eat that day.
Standing beside the statue of a heavily bearded Archmage, Han Shuo wiped the chest of this Archmage named Claire, brushing the dust out of its crevices. He said to Jack, "Say, Jack, wouldn't it be great if statues of the two of us could stand here someday?"
"Brian, stop dreaming. We're just servants. Having enough to eat and not getting beaten every day would be good enough. How could we possibly become mages? Oh... Brian, you really are a little different. You never used to dream like this, much less come up with such nasty ideas!"
"Why couldn't we?"
"To become a mage, you need not only a great deal of talent, but also admission to a magic academy. You have to pay the academy lots of gold coins and pass through trial after trial. Even nobles' children need real talent to have a chance of becoming mages. Commoners like us shouldn't even think about it. Oh, I forgot-you're a servant without even the freedom to leave. You have it worse. You have absolutely no hope!"
"We're already in a magic academy, and we don't even have to pay tuition. Heh heh, what an incredible advantage! If we don't learn some magic, how could we ever show our faces outside and say we're from the Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts?"
"Brian, don't look so confident. We aren't magic students. We're just servants. Uh... besides, I'll be able to leave the magic academy someday, but you-I'm afraid you won't even be able to leave!"
The plump little Jack watched Han Shuo absentmindedly wipe Archmage Claire's statue. Instead of his usual concentration on his work, his face was filled with ambition. Finding Han Shuo rather baffling, Jack honestly voiced his thoughts.
"Ha, let's drop that. Look, that little witch Lisa is finally here. Let's get down to business!" From a distance, Han Shuo spotted the little witch Lisa approaching with slightly unsteady steps. He thought that Brian's six years as a servant at the Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts had been of some use after all. At least he knew certain people's daily routines.
Lisa always got up rather late, and most of the time, she walked slowly toward the magic academy alone. Today was naturally no exception. This time, the little witch Lisa wore a black mage's robe, her long, silky golden hair falling loosely over her lovely shoulders. She seemed not to have slept well the night before, yawning constantly as she walked.
Lisa was very beautiful, but perhaps because she was only sixteen and had not fully developed yet, her chest looked somewhat lacking in fullness. Lisa was reportedly very dissatisfied with her flat chest herself and had recently been looking for ways to address it.
Watching Lisa approach, Han Shuo and Jack continued solemnly wiping dust off Archmage Claire's statue, muttering quietly as though they had no idea she was coming their way.
"How could that be? Brian, are you sure you heard right? Why would Bark say that about Lisa?"
Suddenly, Jack raised his voice a little from his quiet muttering and exclaimed in great surprise.
Walking along absentmindedly, Lisa immediately focused all her attention when she heard someone mention her and looked ahead warily.
Every girl wanted to know what others said about her behind her back, and the little witch Lisa was naturally no exception. To prevent the two ahead from seeing her and becoming afraid to continue, Lisa cleverly hid behind another statue. Her face alive with curiosity, she pricked up her little ears and peeked furtively in their direction.
It's actually that half-mad, half-witted Brian! Lisa grew angry and planned to settle accounts with him later. But first, I need to hear what Bark said about me.
With a foolish grin, Han Shuo said blankly, "I heard right. Just now on the path, Bark told some other students that Lisa's chest was as flat as a loaf of bread someone had stepped on!"
As soon as he said this, Jack desperately stifled his laughter. His plump face flushed bright red, and his body shook.
On the other side, Lisa's rosy face suddenly turned livid. Her beautiful eyes flashed fiercely, her lovely lips slowly twitched, and her little teeth ground audibly. She trembled behind the statue for several seconds, then strode swiftly toward the teaching building, radiating murderous intent. She even forgot her original plan to settle accounts with Brian.
Watching the little witch Lisa race away down another path, her face livid and her whole bearing murderous, Jack finally could not hold back any longer. "Wahahaha!" He burst into laughter, feeling indescribably satisfied. Laughing, he said, "Brian, you're so wicked! Even a servant like me knows Bark likes Lisa, and Lisa hates people saying her chest is small more than anything. Looking at her now, Bark's definitely in for it!"
Han Shuo chuckled slyly, immediately put away his brush, and urged Jack, "Forget brushing Claire. Let's go take a look first!"
Egged on by Han Shuo, the plump little Jack boldly stuffed his brush into the cloth bag at his waist too. Laughing, he said, "Let's go! I want to see how Lisa beats Bark up. Damn him, that'll teach him to hit me this morning!"
The two young Necromancy Department servants happily followed Lisa, running swiftly toward the Necromancy Department's teaching building. Along the way, they left several Necromancy Department students baffled, wondering what had gotten into the two most timid servants today.
The Necromancy Department was a branch of the Darkness Department at Babylon Magic Academy. Its students shared a teaching building with the Darkness Department students, where teachers guided their magic studies every day.
The little witch Lisa's speed was truly admirable. By the time Han Shuo and Jack arrived, they found that Lisa had already flown into a rage and started fighting Bark.
"Lisa, even the Necromancy Department's servants know how I feel about you! How could I possibly bad-mouth you? Who told you this?"
Bark's left eye was already bruised and swollen. Dodging a Bone Arrow, he hastily seized a moment to shout, looking utterly wronged.
This Bark had given Jack a savage beating merely because Jack had bumped into him on the path. Naturally, Brian had suffered even more at his hands.
Bark was the son of a minor noble, seventeen this year, and still only a Magic Apprentice, the lowest rank in the Necromancy Department. Against Lisa, who had already advanced to a Necromancy Department Junior Mage, he naturally could gain no advantage. Moreover, Bark liked Lisa and was even more cautious when attacking. Facing the furious Lisa, it was no wonder he had been hit so quickly.
"Hmph, never mind that. They only let it slip by accident, so there's no mistake. Since you're so vicious, take this!"
Han Shuo and Jack had indeed said it "by accident," and Han Shuo was half-mad and half-witted besides. By all reason, someone like that would never invent lies. What was more, as a servant, he would not dare make things up!
Since it concerned Lisa's taboo, and many people were watching nearby, Lisa naturally would not say it aloud and let others laugh at her. This time, she went all out to teach Bark a lesson.
"Fallen undead warriors, answer the call of the dark emissary and reveal your existence!"
The little witch Lisa raised her slender arms overhead, chanting an incantation. As her voice fell silent, two stark-white Skeleton Warriors appeared before her, carrying equally white bone blades. At a point of her finger, they raised their blades and charged at Bark, their bones clacking.
Han Shuo watched from the side, dumbstruck. Seeing this mysterious necromancy with his own eyes for the first time, his curiosity and excitement reached their peak, and he watched with complete concentration.
"Lisa's mental power isn't bad. She can actually summon two Skeleton Warriors!"
"Hmph, the Necromancy Department is already pathetically weak, and they can't even stick together. No wonder they're the weakest department in the magic academy. They're a disgrace to the Darkness Department!"
After Lisa summoned the two Skeleton Warriors, several Darkness Department students watching nearby began discussing it. From their conversation, Han Shuo learned that even the same spell was divided into five levels according to the strength of the caster's mental power. If a Necromancy Archmage with powerful mental strength cast this skeleton-summoning necromancy spell, they could summon more Skeleton Warriors.
Bark looked dejected and had already cursed the rumor-monger hundreds of times in his heart. Had Bark learned the Darkness Department's Curse Spell, and had his mental power been strong enough, Han Shuo and Jack probably would not have been enjoying the spectacle now.
Chased in every direction by the two Skeleton Warriors, Bark scrambled about in a fluster. Finally, with no other choice, he used the same spell to summon a little skeleton. One person and one skeleton fought Lisa's two little skeletons together.
Seeing Bark in such a sorry state, several Darkness Department students nearby mocked him loudly. Distracted by their jeers, Bark grew upset and even more flustered. One of Lisa's Skeleton Warriors kicked him in the lower abdomen, and his face turned purple with pain as he slowly sank into a crouch.
Seeing Bark struck by the little skeleton, Lisa watched it raise its stark-white bone blade and hurriedly stopped it, sending both summoned little skeletons back to another dimension.
After all, this was not a battle to the death, and the magic academy strictly prohibited students from fighting to kill. Lisa naturally did not dare deal a lethal blow. Seeing Bark injured, most of her anger had already faded.
After Bark stood up, he likewise sent his summoned little skeleton back to another dimension. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw Han Shuo and Jack straight ahead, laughing loudly at him too. Already in a foul mood, Bark immediately charged over furiously, cursing as he went, "You two lowly, worthless servants dare laugh at me too?"
Bark did not dare take his anger out on Lisa, much less lose his temper with the older Darkness Department students nearby. Of everyone around, only the two servants, Han Shuo and Jack, could serve as outlets for his anger. Their loud laughter naturally provoked him all the more.
Lisa saw Bark run arrogantly past her. Her anger had almost subsided, but seeing him disregard her like this, she lost her temper again. Her face cold, she began another incantation. "Endless darkness, grant me the power of death and inflict the agony of the soul upon him. Soul Pain!"
As Lisa finished her incantation, a pitch-black mass of air flew toward Bark. Drifting through the air, the dark mass continually twisted and changed until it finally became a flickering black flame.
Hearing Lisa begin her incantation, Bark turned and saw the magical flame of Soul Pain shooting toward him. His expression changed again. Then, suddenly remembering something, he lunged toward Han Shuo and Jack. Just as Soul Pain was about to strike him, he abruptly rolled across the ground.
Laughing heartily at the success of his scheme, Han Shuo was completely unprepared. He could only watch as Bark suddenly rolled away and the necromancy spell, Soul Pain, struck him instead.
A sudden stab of pain shot through his head. Han Shuo's eyes rolled back, and with his laughing expression still on his face, he toppled stiffly backward.
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