Ronan had been telling himself for a while that he needed more curses.

According to his chart, his initiate-level acolyte title granted him a +1 level boost to dark curses. And out of the seven spells he knew—including the void one he had yet to master—only one was a curse: Exhaust.

At the academy, there were some morning hours where students attended classes based on their affinity. He went to Darkness, his lady to Earth, and Mary to Light.

He had noticed Mary because, when he first saw his lady, he saw a radiant, glorious angel blessed by his god. When he looked at Mary, she reminded him a little of his lady in the sense that Mary, too, was like an angel. Additionally, the young woman treated him with a kindness and a lack of rejection that fascinated Ronan. However, the angel Mary resembled was not glorious, did not shine with a dark essence; rather, she was pale and filled with a dull, whitish light.

Ronan figured that this was how those with an affinity for darkness perceived those aligned with light—that his own affinity distorted his perception.

And it was precisely because of those opposing affinities that he had taken note of her from the very first day. Unlike his lady, whom he had pursued, he had left Mary alone. After all, he had wanted to swear fealty to his lady, and with the pale girl, he had no business.

But he knew she attended Light magic classes while his lady went to Earth and he to Darkness.

The thing was, in the roughly three months they had been taking classes, he had learned nothing. The Dark Magic instructor was absolutely useless.

And he was just as afraid of what Ronan could do as the first two tutors Ronan had at home—those who, after a couple of sessions, never returned.

Exhaust was one of the basic Darkness spells, and its knowledge was widespread. What was the problem if, since the instructors had taught it to young Ronan by practicing on him, he did the same to learn it?

Exhaust did not drain life or anything—it just made you tired.

Those teachers were truly weaklings—they made an enormous fuss just because their student's Exhaust was stronger than expected and he had used it on them.

Fortunately, the third tutor his parents paid for—perhaps the only thing they ever did right—was a scholar who had dedicated his life to dark magic. While his affinity was low, he at least knew the theory behind many spells, even if he was unable to cast them himself. And he had been able to pass on texts and grimoires to Ronan, books containing spells like animate skeletons. Of course, since Ronan was a child with no levels, he had not been able to learn too many spells.

Or was it because books alone were not enough?

The tutor only visited him every once in a while, whenever his parents allowed it. Fortunately, he had left the books behind, and Ronan also had his invisible friend.

"Although, in principle, the spells you possess do not depend on your level," his teacher had told him, "magic tends to favor those with higher levels and better attributes in intelligence and wisdom. You see, the six points in intelligence and wisdom you were born with are a very good base, but they are not enough on their own. I am amazed that you are able, without leveling up, to have so many spells. Though, it is likely due to your high affinity for darkness, which undoubtedly rewards you."

His teacher, who had ventured into some dungeon with the army and managed to reach level 4, had no fewer than eight spells, having dedicated his life to studying and learning as many as possible. The issue was that mages who had any basic spell that wasn't one of the usual curses tended to keep it to themselves.

The unfortunate part was that almost all of his master's known spells were curses. And his parents had forbidden him from teaching Ronan any. Exhaust was something he had already learned from his two previous teachers, and it was the only curse his parents allowed.

"Try to understand them," his teacher had explained when Ronan asked, "they are afraid that if I teach you other curses, you might be able to force them to take you out of here."

That was why, directly from him, Ronan had only learned the basics of controlling dark mana and the theory behind how magic worked. The rest, he had picked up thanks to those grimoires, his experiments with rats, and his invisible friend.

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There had been nothing about other curses in those magic books. But the academy's library was a different story.

Lately, that was where Ronan had been quenching his thirst for knowledge.

To begin with, he searched for all kinds of basic spells from the darkness branch. Only four were widely known. The rest were carefully guarded by sorcerers who had discovered them or had them passed down by their masters, often as a deathbed secret.

Those four spells were exhaust, disorientation, minor disease, and animate skeleton.

He already knew two of them. The other two seemed fairly simple, but his Dark Magic professor preferred to theorize about mana rather than actually teach them. So far, the only practical thing they had covered in class was exhaust. That was why he had been studying the library's grimoires, and he believed he already had the spells down—all that was left was casting them with intent.

For now, he had not seen a reason to use them on a classmate or a random field animal. Even less so on his undead friends, though everyone knew that the undead had a natural resistance to status effects like disorientation and disease.

When it came to higher-level spells, he found nothing in the library. They were mentioned, yes—like the dark flare he already knew, or spells like blindness and one that made blood boil—but there were no explanations or hints on how a dedicated student might learn them through experimentation.

And if he was going to experiment, he wanted to try using life drain—which he had discovered was a very rare spell, known by only a few sorcerers—to create a curse that would drain life over time, whether per minute or per second. In other words, he wanted to cast the curse and have it work on its own instead of needing to actively maintain the drain. And if it could also transfer the drained life or mana to him, even better.

That was what he had tried on the orc sergeant, though without success. All he had managed was to drain a little life, leaving it weakened for the pup. However, he had felt something in the flow of vitality that gave him an idea to test another time—when he had a new volunteer for his experiments.

And while he was at it, he would also test minor disease.

As for disorientation, he planned to ask for volunteers among his goblin friends before returning to the academy. After all, it was like exhaust—it did not cause harm. It would only leave them dizzy and disoriented for a little while. Probably.

By then, they had already returned to the goblin cave. After helping out some more—this time building extra beds for the future babies (they needed to meet the town hall's requirements)—he had found a moment to be alone.

A couple of the zombie bears sat beside him, keeping him company. One of them even nudged him, seeking head scratches. Since he found it relaxing, he did not refuse, and there he was—sitting in the dim glow of tallow candles, absentmindedly stroking the bear.

That was when his invisible friend chose to speak to him.

"Ronan, you need to touch a stone chart when you get the chance. At level 7, you were supposed to receive the necromancer specialization, but since you are my acolyte, it was left in limbo. With your actions, you have earned something better," the voice told him in his mind.

"So, I am not a Necromancer, then? What am I?" the young man responded out loud, as he had always done since childhood.

"Someone who comforts and understands the dead. You have also been granted the mastery and spell of your specialization."

Ronan fell into thought. He did not feel particularly different. Then again, he had experienced strange sensations over the past few days—especially with the bear in the dungeon and with Joe. It was very possible that he had received a new spell and had not even noticed.

"Thank you, my lord. I shall do so."

His friend's voice faded away, and he continued stroking the bear.

That same night, when he was back at the academy, he snuck off to touch the status board. This was what he found (though Bianca had already spoiled it for him):

Specialization: Soul Weaver. Your status as an acolyte of the Dark God, along with your sensitivity and concern for the creatures you raise, allows you to reach their souls and bind them to the remains of their bodies, whether animated or summoned.

Primary stats: Intelligence and Wisdom. Bonus: +3 Int, +2 Wis.

Mastery: Minor Soul Inn. +1 Con. You can store lost souls you find in this land and bring souls from beyond if you are in the right place. Regardless of how ancient the souls you conjure may be, you may, if you wish, grant them an undead body.

Spell: Create and Animate Minor Abomination. With sufficient dead flesh from various creatures, you can manipulate it to form a larger and more powerful entity. Unlike other undead, the abomination cannot remain in this world indefinitely.

Cost: 3 MP and an amount of corpses equivalent to 6 medium-sized humans. Duration: 60 minutes.

He also noticed that, thanks to the goblins, he had learned a new curse:

Minor Disorientation. You induce an altered status effect in a target, making them unaware of their surroundings and potentially rendering them unable to think or act coherently for 30 seconds. This effect depends on the target's magical resistance. If they lack magical resistance, the impairment is total. Due to the effect of the Acolyte skill, Minor Disorientation becomes Low Disorientation. The altered state lasts for 1 minute.

Cost: 1MP.

Additionally, he had finally rid himself of the malnutrition debuff.

With 17 intelligence points, 16 mana, and his high affinity for darkness, Ronan was becoming a vassal truly worthy of his lady's greatness. Given enough time to continue raising his army, no human threat would be able to oppose her.

Divine beasts, however, were another matter entirely.

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