Chapter 7: The School of the Doomed (2) | The Hundred Reigns
Balzam Magnos couldn't organize an archive to save his life.
Simon didn't know what he was expecting from his father's secret private collection, but sheer chaos wasn't it. Books on genealogy sat sandwiched between notes on cosmic astronomy and half-baked plans to invade the western continent. Browsing through it all gave him the mother of all headaches.
Simon didn't think it was an attempt to befuddle visitors—the code his father used already locked his secrets shut. No, Balzam Magnos simply explored one venture after another before moving on to the next without concern for his successor.
This strongly reinforced Simon's suspicions that while his father had made contingencies in case he died, he hadn't seen his demise coming either, or else he would have given his successor directions or clearer hints.
A few general things shone through, however. First of all, Father had become obsessed with astronomy. A good third of the books and instruments revolved around the study of celestial bodies, the zodiac, and star magic. Father didn't strike Simon as the kind of person to idly explore a science for its own sake, so he must have been looking for something among the stars. Was that part of his commandment to 'bring down the sky'?
Second, Father had done some extensive genealogical research when it came to the House of Magnos. He had fully recreated the entire lineage all the way to a certain 'Elios Magnos', who had apparently lived over four hundred years ago during Overlord Mardok's time. Nothing too extraordinary at first glance, except for one tiny detail.
That ancient ancestor's date of death was missing.
Finally, Father had accumulated quite the collection of handwritten and edited maps. Most were meant for military uses, like the detailed layout of Fablan's royal castle, but the ones showing the known world also represented islands Simon had never heard of. One showed eight crosses spread across the world, with one on Telluria's eastern edge. The annotation confused Simon.
'Demonbarrows; at least four of them still missing. Fablan, Uyo? Maybe Muse or Magvolia? Floating continents?'
Demonbarrows? He had never heard of the term. Another map was almost identical to the former, except the crosses showed different places and had names associated with them. One pointed to the Princedom of Beleth with Duchar Honorius' name written on it.
'Potential mentors and teachers,' Simon read the annotation. Did Father expect him to teach necromancy lessons to his heir? So many mysteries and so few breadcrumbs to follow.
"Have you ever heard of Elios Magnos?" Simon asked Duchar as they browsed his father's archive. He had allowed the man to check the library and item display in case any of them carried a magical trap of some kind.
"I know no man with such a name, Your Majesty."
Simon's tongue clicked in his mouth. "I am no ruler," he said, "and the world mustn't know either."
"Yes, yes, of course, worry not. My daughter and I are not social people. We mostly keep, should I say…" Duchar chuckled. "Dead silent company."
Good grief, was that what passed for humor among necromancers nowadays? "What about demonbarrows?" Simon asked while showing him the appropriate map. "Do you know the term?"
"Demonbarrows?" Duchar stroked his goatee. "Barrows are burial mounds, so the name should refer to a demon's burial place… perhaps those are locations where fiends are sealed?"
It seemed Father didn't trust Duchar with his secrets. Were they related to the reigns?
"I do, however, know what this place is," Duchar said upon pointing at the cross on Telluria's eastern edge. "It is the old capital of the kish people."
"The kish?"
"An ancient beastmen empire that ruled Telluria before the Doom wiped them out. It fell overnight when their capital crumbled into a den of monsters. The beastmen say the imperial palace is still cursed to this day and refuse to set foot in it." Duchar cleared his throat. "I had a beastman slave who could have told Your Majesty more, but alas, his soul is not with us anymore. I would suggest purchasing another at the market if Your Majesty seeks to learn more."
The fact that he had to explicitly specify that only the beastman's soul had departed convinced Simon to quickly change the subject. Why was his father interested in a fallen empire? Endymion didn't even control that part of Telluria yet.
Then again, should he even investigate? Simon was free of the palace's intrigue for however long it would take his siblings to realize he had tricked them. Shouldn't he enjoy his newfound liberty and gain experience rather than pursue his father's ghost? He didn't owe the old man a thing.
Simon feared things would not be so simple. "Did my father give you specific directions beyond just keeping his inheritance?"
To his surprise, Duchar nodded in confirmation. "His Late Majesty commissioned two projects from me and cancelled another a few months before his death. I was wondering if you wished me to continue on with it."
"Why ask me?" Simon frowned. "You owe me no oath of service."
Duchar smiled slightly. "Your Majesty is the Overlord. I cannot fathom why you would seek to hide it, but surely there will come a time when you sit on the Crimson Throne and my research shall rest on your goodwill. Not to mention that the brand I have received is most useful and that I would rather keep it."
Cunning old fox… Simon had no intention of ruling as Overlord, whether in this reign or the next, but this suited him just fine. "What projects are you working on?"
"The first project was the development of the obstacle course on the second level. The second was a blood tracking spell meant to hunt down relatives."
Simon raised an eyebrow. "Surely a good divination spell should achieve the same result."
"That would be true in most cases, but Overlord Balzam wanted something stronger. Something that could track a relative through divination protections. A rather odd choice of research, but who am I to question the Overlord's wisdom?"
Interesting. Did it have something to do with that mysterious ancestor of theirs? Or was Father looking for a way to track down Louis and the others, should they rebel against him? Either possibility was likely.
"What was that about an obstacle course?" Simon inquired.
"This complex's second level was turned into a trap-filled maze at His Majesty's insistence for the purpose of testing my… my creations. During his visits, His Late Majesty delighted in releasing living prisoners inside with the promise that they could go free once they reached the maze's exit, then proceeded to observe them struggle for their freedom with a crystal ball."
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"And, of course, I assume that this exit did not actually exist?" Simon guessed and received a rancid smirk in return. Balzam the Cruel once again lived up to his name. "I assume that you don't particularly miss the undead you use in this maze, if they're meant to be tested?"
"Indeed. Should Your Majesty wish to test them himself, I can arrange a handful of duels."
That was exactly what Simon had been thinking. Destroying undead was about as disturbing as slaying living prisoners, if less guilt-inducing, but it should let him level-up.
"Then you may continue with these projects," Simon decided. "What was the cancelled one?"
"It was a helm that would copy the wearer's mind and then overwrite the next wearer's thoughts with them," Duchar said with frightening nonchalance. "The goal was to copy His Late Majesty's spirit and have it possess the next Overlord, hopefully a direct descendant for greater compatibility."
Simon remained silent as a gravestone, his blood boiling in his veins. That cruel bastard… he never had any intention of letting his children inherit anything.
"Alas, the Overlord's immunity against mind-reading was too strong for the spell to breach, so we could not copy his mind for a transfer and had to scrap the project," Duchar said with zero remorse or guilt whatsoever. "A shame, truly. I told His Late Majesty that there were easier ways to safeguard his soul beyond death, like lichdom or reanimation as a ghost, but he wouldn't even entertain those thoughts."
"Good." Simon shook his head in disgust. "Just… Just carry on with the blood relative tracking spell and obstacle course, would you?"
"As Your Majesty wishes." Duchar cleared his throat. "If I may ask a request of you… Would you kindly bless my daughter Cassandra with the Devil Brand of Sloth? I beseeched your father to do so, but he insisted that I finish the tracking spell first. A stronger apprentice would help me progress faster."
"Why not?" Simon didn't see any particular reason to deny his wish, especially since he could remove the brand at will anyway. It would be a good opportunity to test its power.
Simon transformed into his Overlord Class when Cassandra arrived, then attempted to use his Devil Brand ability. He only had to think about it for a floating, ghostly image of Duchar's own skin-sigil to appear in the palm of his hand.
"I think I can put it anywhere on the body," Simon informed Cassandra. "Do you have any specific preference?"
"The throat will do, Your Majesty," she replied. "I wear a choker when I go outside. None will see it."
"And are you truly sure about this? I cannot remove it without inflicting severe wounds."
"Life is too short, our time on this earth flies by in an instant, and I have too much to learn," Cassandra insisted. "His Majesty's brand will shorten my studies into undeath."
Fair enough… Simon guessed that the apple didn't fall far from the tree in this woman's case. At least these two seemed to have no interest in politics, only their research, which suited him just as well.
Simon pressed his finger against her naked throat. He had never touched a girl this way before, so it felt a bit weird; doubly so when Cassandra whimpered at his contact. The sigil soon materialized on her skin.
"Oh…" Cassandra exhaled with what could pass for pleasure. "I can already sense His Majesty's power flowing through my bones..."
So could Simon. He immediately detected a new telepathic bond forming between him and Cassandra through her mark, followed by a rush of pleasure and strength.
Level 9 Perk Unlocked: Lord of the Demon Castle I (passive): All Demon-type creatures gain a stat boost when inside Frightwall, yourself included.
"What…" Simon reread the notification and quickly checked his stats. "I've leveled-up."
"One does not only progress in a Class through battle," Duchar explained. "We gain experience through deeds that resonate with it, and what could be more befitting of an Overlord than to claim a new servant?"
"I see…" Simon pondered the implications. Would he gain an exponential amount of experience with each new Devil Brand he applied, or were there limits? "I will keep that in mind."
Whatever the case, Cassandra now bore his Brand of Sloth on her skin. It would strengthen her stats and increase her experience yield in return for forever keeping her mind open to him. He guessed that being able to call a witch anytime should prove useful one day.
"Do you attend the academy too?" Simon asked, with Cassandra shaking her head. "I have to leave for it before my retainers worry about my absence, but I'll be back sometime soon."
"Your Majesty is welcome in our abode anytime." Duchar chuckled to himself. "This place is your home now."
Simon returned to the Academy with some of his Father's notes, and many more questions. Duchar said he would need some time to prepare the obstacle course for a level-up session, so Simon would probably visit him again next week.
Meredith welcomed him at the academy's metal gates–having apparently stood there for hours—and led him inside the establishment's vast courtyard. The students were split into three barrack-like dormitories partly built in the school's thick outer walls based on their birth. Simon had been assigned to the central one closest to Beleth Keep, which housed a small population but gave its students the most space.
In short, Simon would live with the rich kids and the noble cliques. This annoyed him. He would rather have faded into the background as another student among many, but he was bound to attract attention by the mere virtue of his current accommodations.
His sour mood lasted until he actually reached his quarters. His new room was roughly the size of the one he had at Castle Frightwall, with enough space for a desk and a small table. Leonard was sitting there with two female guests. One was quite the familiar face.
"You've kept us waiting, Simon," Anna greeted him with a smile. "I should chastise you for it."
Anna Paimon, only daughter of Maublanc Paimon, was Simon's second favorite person behind Laurianne because she didn't care about his origins; bastard or not, he was simply a childhood friend so close they might as well have been cousins. A pleasant and healthy young woman with honey hair bound by a red ribbon, freckles, and amber eyes, she dressed more like an adventurer than a noble lady with a leather tunic. Her easy grin never failed to put Simon at ease.
"Anna." Simon returned her smile and kissed her on the cheek. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"You'd better get used to it, since our rooms are right next to each other. Imagine my disappointment when two guards showed up instead of my dear Simon, whom I hoped to surprise with the good news," Anna chuckled. "Thankfully, Lord Decarabia was kind enough to entertain us until your return."
"Her Highness is too kind," Leonard replied before turning to the last person in the room. "Let me introduce you to my sister, Tiella Decarabia."
"Greetings, Your Highness," Tiella replied softly. She was a girl around Anna's age, with the brownish skin of those descending from the Uyo people, darker hair falling onto her back, and a grey gaze. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"No need to be so formal, Tiella," Anna said before winking at Simon. "He hates court etiquette."
"You know me too well," Simon replied. Anna was one of the few people in the world he actually liked to hang out with. "Glad to meet you, too, Tiella. I hope Anna hasn't been too overwhelming to deal with?"
Tiella smiled shyly, while Anna lightly punched Simon in the shoulder. "I'm a pleasure to be around, thank you very much," Anna said. "Not unlike that ass Antonine."
"Antonine?" Simon snorted. Antonine de Shax was Thalas' fiancée, and a spoiled, arrogant bitch. "Oh, right, she's attending this year."
"Louis' fiancée too, but that one is very nice, you'll love her." Anna rested her head in her palms and smirked at Simon. "Are you studying divine mysteries this year?"
Simon shrugged. He hadn't yet considered the classes he would pick. "Maybe?"
"You have to pick that class, and join the dueling club too," Anna said with a tone that brooked no opposition. "It'll be so boring without you."
"I'll think about it?" Simon replied with amusement. He remained adamant about keeping the Overlord class a secret and a dueling club would make it difficult for him to hide his improved strength, but it could provide welcome practice.
This year promised to be entertaining.
That impression lasted until someone opened the door to his room without knocking. That was already quite disrespectful by itself, but the two people who walked in were the very last souls in this world that Simon wanted to see.
The first was Antonine de Shax, Thalas' fiancée, a young woman as pretty as she was cruel. The refined product of generations of imperial nobility, she cut a striking figure with her curly blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a black corset and dress, putting her voluptuous assets on display. She had a face that could launch a thousand ships, but her smirk… her unbearably smug smirk made Simon want to slap her.
And then there was Thalas.
Thalas was here, at the Academy.
"Ah, Anna," he said, hardly sparing a glance for Simon. "I was hoping I wouldn't find you here. Don't you know better by now than hanging out with Father's mistake?"
"Prince Thalas?" Meredith asked upon bowing at him. Leonard and his sister followed suit, but with a slight delay.
"Thalas?" Anna gasped in shock. "Now this is a surprise."
"What are you doing here?" Simon blurted out in shock.
Antonine gave him the most condescending look possible. "Is that a way to talk to your new classmate, bastard?"
She stressed the last word as if expecting it to hurt Simon, but it was the first part of her sentence that shocked him the most. "Are you kidding me?!"
"You've heard it right, bastard. I'm attending this year." Thalas gave him a baleful glare. "And I would stay clear of the future Overlord if you know what's good for you."