The noisy footsteps in the corridor filtered through the wooden door into Durin's ears, gradually waking him from his sleep.
"Hmm… what's going on?"
Durin rubbed his eyes sleepily. Last night, he had listened to music until nearly midnight and unknowingly drank quite a bit of alcohol. Originally, the four Geishas wanted to stay and serve him.
Fortunately, Durin had a good alcohol tolerance and didn't drink too much. He still remembered the black-red chitinous substance covering his left chest and upper left arm, as well as the bulging, gnarled blood vessels.
So, he could only regretfully let the four Geishas leave. Of course, he did experience some oral techniques; the four took turns performing, and the soft, watery fusion of tongue and flesh almost made Durin unable to hold on for a few minutes. He had to forcefully empower himself with Arcane Wisdom, keeping his brain clear and calm, to last for a good while.
But… what time is it now?
Durin looked up at the wall clock with some confusion. The hour hand pointed to eight, and the minute hand was already at ten.
Damn it!
He was going to be late!
Durin quickly scrambled out of bed, put on all his clothes, and after confirming that the Darkin Harp was still in his instrument bag, he hurriedly ran out onto the street.
He quickly hailed a public carriage by the roadside and rode it towards Piltover University.
Today's Tuesday classes were quite busy, as two of Monday's courses were all piled into Tuesday afternoon.
By the time all the day's classes were over, Durin was exhausted, but he didn't leave the university immediately. Instead, he went to the Irelix Grand Library. The entire library was quiet, with students from different colleges hunched over stacks of books that almost towered over their heads, gripping their pens and writing furiously.
Even though it was already five in the afternoon, he walked directly to the bookshelf where he had previously found "On the Feasibility of Necromancers in Runeterra." He wanted to see if he could find an answer among the vast collection of books.
After quite some time, Durin pulled out a book with a colorful cover from the shelf. The spine had a few crookedly written words: "Necrotic Mist: Weaving Beneath the Soul."
Given that much useful knowledge in Piltover required payment, Durin didn't think the library would be free.
So, he went to the librarian's counter and asked, "How do I borrow this book? Can I just take it?"
"It's 20 copper circle coins to borrow for one day. If it's damaged, you need to compensate at the original price. If it's lost, you need to compensate three times the price or more. If the book is too valuable, it's ten times the price or more, and you'll be blacklisted," the librarian replied calmly.
So expensive!
Durin expected borrowing books wouldn't be cheap, but he didn't expect it to be this expensive.
He didn't haggle, directly handed over 20 copper circle coins to the other party, then asked, "I need to buy some A4 paper. How much is it? And a bottle of ink."
The librarian took out a bottle of ink, then brought out a large bag of paper and began counting them out for Durin, sheet by sheet. "Ordinary A4 paper, 12 copper circle coins for a dozen (15 sheets), and ink is 10 copper circle coins a bottle."
Halfway through counting, he looked at Durin and asked, "How many do you want?"
"Two dozen for now," Durin thought for a moment. His previous notebook was used up, and the pages were small and didn't last long for writing. It was better to buy A4 paper and then bind it himself later.
However, this price was not cheap either. After all, Piltover had printing factories, yet a dozen still cost 12 copper circle coins. A simple meal he ate in the school cafeteria was only 5 copper circle coins.
After registering his name and student ID, and paying another 22 copper circle coins, Durin took the paper, ink, and borrowed books, and rushed home by tram. Now, he had to race against time.
Upon returning home, Durin first closed the doors and windows, then adjusted the alchemical lamp to a warm yellow hue. He took out the Lich's notebook from his storage ring, spread it on his desk, and continued his research.
He had to admit that the Lich named Usama must have received a "formal education" in his lifetime. All the records—even the casual notes in the margins—were written in a mixture of Ancient Shuriman, Noxian, and Ochnun languages.
Fortunately, Durin had followed Styraatu in his dreams to learn Ancient Shuriman, so he could mostly understand the intended meaning.
As for Ochnun, he still had a translation dictionary that the Lich had prepared. As long as he ignored grammatical issues, he could understand the meaning with a little effort.
This notebook could no longer affect Durin's emotions. He knew the potential consequences of learning necromancy, but if he wanted to climb higher, the normal route was impossible.
Only these shortcuts, these crooked paths, could give Durin hope of advancement. And before he began learning, he specifically cast the Arcane Wisdom spell on himself to strengthen his rational state and ensure he wouldn't be influenced.
Thus, Durin spent some time categorizing this notebook, which contained a mixture of diaries, musings, experimental records, research insights, and transcriptions of two necromantic spells, according to its content. He added his own questions and thoughts, supplemented by excerpts from two reference books, and filled an entire ream of A4 paper.
Of course, some parts were not yet organized, but regarding mastering the second necromantic spell, he had already reached a conclusion. The spell was named Temporary Zombie Art, and its effect was to temporarily revive a weak corpse as a zombie.
However, this spell involved two special domains: the Whispers of Bones and Resurrection.
What are the Whispers of Bones?
Simply put, it means the dead softly speak to the necromancer day and night; some wish to live, some wish to die.
If one wants to maintain human rationality, one should not listen to their voices too much. Speak more with living things, speak more with the living.
Between life and death, it is very quiet; overly fluctuating emotions will only interfere with a necromancer's spellcasting.
Therefore, necromancy tests a person's patience and emotional management and control more than ordinary spells.
As for the latter—Resurrection—it is a fascinating subject for everyone. It is dangerous, but also captivating.
From the perspective of necromancy, resurrection is pulling the soul from death back to reality. If one wants to revive a person, one must pull their soul back from the underworld completely intact.
However, based on the Lich's notebook and his experience in the graveyard, Durin judged that such an act was impossible, because the souls brought back were incomplete, with only the most basic chaotic consciousness remaining.
Once a soul is taken by Death, it returns to the underworld in the spiritual world. Any attempt to bring it back to the human world will result in a loss of part of it, the difference being how much is lost and which part.
The reason is simple: a soul has no concept of "quantity"; its shape is like a cotton ball.
Here, it can also explain why Durin was able to master necromancy as if by talent: it's because his soul is special. He transmigrated to Runeterra in his physical body.
His original soul does not belong here, nor does it fall under Death's jurisdiction. Whether from dimension, space, or time, his soul has been marked as an outsider.
For example, the human souls of Runeterra are a ball, while Durin's soul might be a mist, or perhaps a trickling stream. In short, its shape is not fixed; it is variable.
This is also why Durin was extremely adaptable to the side effects brought by Ochnun, and his extreme sensitivity to necromancy.
For the next period, Durin tentatively uttered the incantation for the second necromantic spell: "Maru Taya, Smisecyline Karon… Yasalun Tan!"
This incantation was extremely difficult to pronounce, many sounds were completely impossible for a human tongue, ultimately making the incantation extremely awkward and bizarre.
But fortunately, the magic at least activated.
Combined with a clenched fist gesture, the surging necromantic energy in the air was like hyenas on the grassland, seeing their target and quickly rushing into his left hand.
When they approached, they converged into a vortex, vaguely revealing an obscure and complex runic model. But seemingly unable to find a dead body, they scattered in all directions and dispersed.
Durin was sure his incantation was correct, but he wasn't sure if it was successful.
Because the notes described it very simply: imagine your magic connecting to the corpse, then imagine a light spot inside and envelop it with magic.
However, Durin didn't have a corpse on hand right now.
He believed he needed to find a corpse to experiment with. A human corpse was out of the question; this was Piltover, with the Piltover Guard, established order, and the esteemed title of City of Progress.
There was no possibility of corpse trading, nor would it ever be allowed. If he were in Zaun, Durin might be able to find some organ trafficking groups to buy a corpse.
But that would go against his moral conscience and wouldn't be proper.
So, Durin thought that if a human corpse wasn't an option, an animal corpse would also work.
For example, he could go to the market, buy a live chicken, bring it back, slaughter it himself, and then revive it with necromancy. If it succeeded, it would mean he had mastered the necromantic spell called "Temporary Zombie Art." If it failed... then he would just practice more.
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