"Well then, since we're here let's collect the rest of the eggs from the village," I shrug. "What a shame your friends aren't here to help us!"

Compared to the disgust I feel for the worms, the troll gore is nothing. Maybe I should have stayed behind skinning the wolves.

As for the few surviving trolls, those who hadn't yet reached the impact zone, they try to reorganize; but the alpha howls, buffing his pack, and they go for them. The pup looks at me questioningly.

"Go, you're stronger now, you shouldn't take damage."

The trolls, according to the mission information, regenerate. But one thing is closing a wound and another is recovering from a crushed skull and mashed brain from an ice golem "rock" at full speed.

I'm completely disgusted, but I help Ronan empty the remaining spawning pits. In total, we have 28 pouches. Since there's still plenty of room in the bag, I look at my friend while arching an eyebrow.

"Loot and on to the next village?"

"Of course."

I let him carry the bag and start thinking about the bath I'll take when we return to the academy, to get rid of the feeling of those disgusting eggs when I grabbed them by the handful and the touch of the worms on my skin. I also have some red, swollen welts on my arm where the glove didn't cover. Since I haven't used today's heal yet, I do it and what a relief when the itching disappears.

On the other hand, there have been some casualties among the golems and bats, nothing Ronan can't fix with a bit more necromancy. When he finishes raising them, he drinks a mana potion. We should have left him a troll to drain.

When the pup returns, I ask for his second healing lick. He stares at me and makes a pitiful sound.

Oh, the 24 hours!

It has been that long for the heal spell, since I used the last one yesterday early morning. However, I asked for the pup's last healing lick yesterday afternoon, after the shadow wolf's fight at the lake. And since I've asked for another one now... I sigh and drink my last mana potion out of the two they gave me as part of my loot from the desert dungeon.

And by the way, now that combat has ended, I get the following notification.

Warning. You're focusing too much on Earth Control and Fire Element Channeling spells. If you continue like this, you'll soon reach the next level and won't be able to learn it due to the limitations of your Aetherblade specialization.

Oh, wow. I thought I would have leveled something... I calculate that the earth wall must be right at the edge, although I didn't use it in this particular fight.

Well, at least the system is kind enough to warn me this time. Since the word "limitations" seems highlighted, I touch it and a new window opens:

To maintain balance, until you improve your basic air and water element spells to intermediate level, you won't be able to improve earth control to advanced level. To maintain balance, until you improve your channeling with air and water elements to low level, you won't be able to improve fire element channeling to high level.

Well then, maybe I should have taken balance instead of meditation... Or not, because with meditation I've been training at the academy to recover my mana and cast spells again. Sure, with balance, air and water would improve faster, but I could practice fewer times. I imagine it's all about how creative I can be with the spells and masteries I've chosen.

Meanwhile, I notice an unnatural movement in Ronan's cloak and soon see the fire salamander's head peek out. I burst out laughing.

"You brought her? I thought you kept her in the room since we weren't going near the lake."

The pet opens her mouth and emits a slight chirp. Something seems wrong with her.

"I acquired her precisely in case we were attacked by wraiths. Therefore, as long as that possibility remains, I must bring her along."

"Well, she's been very well-behaved and obedient under your cloak, coiled around your waist, but something's wrong." I frown as I realize. "When was the last time you fed and watered her?"

"My lady, she does not require water to drink; she absorbs moisture from the environment. Furthermore, being fire-aligned, her needs are far less than those of a water salamander. Additionally, I fed her this morning before we departed, so she should not yet be hungry. Oh."

"What is it?"

"She just sent me a mental image. Apparently it is the worms, she would like to eat some."

I roll my eyes. Oh, how disgusting. She must have smelled them.

"Fine, let her eat. You give her some so she doesn't get attacked if she goes into the pit. Meanwhile, shall we loot the trolls?"

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"One of my skeletal wolves will bring them to her. Petunia, go with him."

"You named her?"

"Of course, she is my friend."

I watch, holding back laughter, as one of the skeletal wolves approaches a pit with its paw and pulls it out with several worms crawling on it, which it flings to the ground, and Petunia, moving like a proper lady, suddenly flicks out her tongue and catches a worm which she puts in her mouth. She eats it as if it's nothing, all refined, and goes for another. Seeing that Ronan is already at the trolls, I hurry to follow him and see what we can loot.

There are clubs and also their clothes made of snow wolf pelts. Beyond that, there are several rings that would work as bracelets for us that seem magical. Ronan removes them and hands them to me. They're copper, crudely made, and only one is magical:

Lesser Troll Bracelet. +1 HP (regeneration) per hour.

"Well, with my healing and the pup's lick I'd rather sell it, it must be expensive. Or do you want it?"

"Something like this could be very useful for us. If you do not wish to keep it, I would be glad to take it."

"Agreed. Is there anything else we can loot?"

"Yes, we could collect their blood, it is an alchemical ingredient used in regeneration potions. And their pelts also sell, for armor."

"No, please not the pelts. I refuse to skin them like wolves—they look like big people."

Ronan looks somewhat disappointed at me.

"What about the blood?"

"We don't have anything to store it in."

"Excuse me, my lady, but we do. I brought twenty flasks."

Okay, the guy took dungeon preparation seriously.

"And we're collecting it now?"

Seeing my reluctance, he offers a feasible solution.

"Joe, Bob, and Tom have already finished with the pelts and are on their way here. If you would like, I can give them the flasks and let them take care of it."

I imagine the poor things loaded with bundles of pelts tied with ropes and now having to bleed the trolls. Well... Better them than me since it creeps me out.

"Perfect, thanks!"

"And do not worry about the troll skins, my lady. I can raise them as zombies, lead them to the village, and once there, cancel the spell to leave behind inert bodies we can skin properly."

"Ugh, no! Ronan..." I reprimand him.

"But my lady, I have already done this with one of the two giant bears. With troll leather, we could craft fine armor for the goblins. I am sure they would be delighted if we gifted it to them."

Damn... that's completely logical. I just need to forget they're humanoids, pretend it's not like skinning a human to wear their skin.

"Alright," I murmur almost inaudibly.

"Thank you, my lady!" Ronan's face lights up. "Then I shall proceed. We can also leave some of the trolls here to wait for Bob, Tom, and Joe, so they can help carry the materials."

He begins his necromantic magic. He raises a few and replenishes his mana with a potion. Raises seven more and repeats the process. When finished, with 16 trolls, he looks at me.

"My lady, this should suffice for now as I am once again running low on potions."

"But how much money have you spent on mana potions?" I ask.

"A lot, a significant portion of what we earned in the desert dungeon."

What? He must have taken about 160 or 170 gold coins and with that you could buy a house...

Wait...

"How much does a mana potion cost?"

"Two gold coins for minor ones, four for medium."

I assume the medium is what he'd use to raise the mountain king.

"That's so expensive!"

"My lady, it is quite normal. To create them, one does not simply require the ingredients—the alchemist must also infuse them with mana, the entirety of the potion's mana. Health potions are more affordable, as they only require ingredients and a single mana point to create."

And they'd been giving me minor ones during my afternoon private classes... The academy really is investing in me.

"The minor ones are seven mana points, right?"

"Yes, my lady."

"The medium ones?"

"Fifteen."

I see. And who has 15 mana points to fill them? I hope multiple alchemists can work together, because otherwise the larger ones must be prohibitively expensive.

"Each animated troll zombie cost you two points?"

"Yes. They are bigger than wolves, so it costs more."

"And when you raise them from a bone or tooth?"

"More, because with magic I have to recreate their body. That part contains information about how the body was, but you still have to shape the matter."

"What if you summon them?"

"Three mana points. However, the summoned creature is limited by my level, intelligence, and the type of creature it is. For instance, I could summon a human zombie, but if it were a level 17 warrior zombie, it would be much weaker. If I want it to possess the strength of a level 17 warrior, I would need to animate it. I am unsure of the exact cost, but it would certainly require much more than one mana point, which is all that would be needed for a low-level human."

"So, the mountain king papa bear, if you summoned it..."

"Would have much less power than when I raised it from a body fragment. I need to improve more to summon it at full potential."

"I understand."

"Also, my lady, when I animate them I call their soul, if it chooses to stay."

I nod—that's Ronan's unique trait other necromancers don't share.

"But when I summon," he continues, "I bring forth a soulless creature, merely a vessel that follows my commands. With my soul-weaving abilities, I believe I could bind a lost soul to that vessel. It is something I have yet to attempt."

"I understand."

Now I see much more clearly why he kept Joe's skull—and not just because animating it would cost less mana than summoning.

"Oh," I realize, "the wolf with the slit throat? You raised it intact."

"I have discovered that I can spend a bit more mana to raise creatures intact. Since it was an alpha, it felt appropriate to do so. It only cost one point."

"You're improving a lot."

"You too, my lady."

Thoughtful, I nod. Then I glance toward where the skeletal wolf and Petunia are. Since the salamander hasn't finished eating yet, we take the opportunity to check the troll council hut where, according to dungeon information, there's sometimes a chest. Together, Ronan and I push open the heavy wooden door and enter. I ignore the foul smell inside—no worse than the spawning pits—and approach the chest by some pelts serving as a bed.

"Wait, my lady, it could have a trap."

"Right, thanks."

I'd been about to open it. I withdraw my hand and let several bats grip the lid with their claws and open it by flapping their wings upward and forward. A liquid extracted from the worms spills out, harmless to trolls but dangerous to us. Carefully avoiding contact, I inspect the contents: four minor health potions and four mana potions. We split them (I let Ronan take all the mana ones. After all, he's the one bankrupting himself buying them) and return to Petunia and the other undead minions.

The salamander, seeing Ronan, walks toward him delicately. Ronan picks her up and brings her to his waist so she can coil up and hide under his cloak.

Bob, Tom and Joe haven't arrived yet, but we leave the flasks for them and continue toward the next troll village. The thirteen trolls coming with us carry the clubs of those Ronan didn't raise. The other three stay behind waiting for the three skeletons.

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