The white walls and the buzzing lights did not sit well with Wayne. Nothing about any of this sat well with him. Not the hospital, his new helper, and especially that he was to be his instructor. If the Grandmaster wanted a new pet project he should have kept the nuisance to himself.

  Wayne never had an apprentice before, he liked it that way. In an official capacity the kid wouldn’t be his Apprentice but in every other way he would be. It was a frustrating prospect. He’d have to instruct him in Spirit taming, contracting, and housing. Not to mention magic, monsters, and golem creation. The last prospect would take a long time. Making a golem took a foundation in all aspects of Necromancy. It was the one he’d be most willing to teach.

  He stood outside the room. He was in his battle uniform. The three piece dress clothes had been heavily enchanted. The whole set had a magic circle of protection. Any blow would be reduced to only being hit by a fist. It was the economical choice. Instead more money was placed into each item's specialized enhancement.

  The suit jacket was inlaid with a fabric stitching of an Arachne's binding circle. With this he’d be able to capture any spirit that was below a knight or wizard class. The vest incorporated an amplification effect to strengthen golem parts. The wear on the parts was some of the most worrying aspects of construction, especially the expense. The tie and belt shared an effect. Both amplified soul connection. His shirt was used to increase his own control.

  All in all he was a man with only one goal. Golems. In his eyes this made him a poor teacher. His research in part wasn’t as fruitful as the Grandmasters own research. It being a more recent field of study he’d be flying blind and teaching while doing so. He could ruin the kids' future. Not that he cared. What was he supposed to do handhold him?

  He’d stood outside the room for too long lost in thought. Passersby were giving him odd looks. A natural introvert he cringed at their stares. Sliding the door open he found this new mystery student. He was on the tall side, muscular, not the build of most necromancers. Surprisingly he found he was similar to himself.

  The constant use of parts meant golem users got the most exercise out of all necromancers. At least until they had made their own assistants. Then it was nearly an automated process. He long ago could have done so but found the process part of the magic. This had returned to him in better products than he could have hoped for. Automated assistants would be economically inefficient.

  The boy or young man. He couldn’t quite tell. Long ago, his own age had begun to slip away from him. The installation of golem parts slowly replacing his flesh and organ. Was he forty or maybe sixty now? The young man's hair was a faded green, and his body was wrapped up like a mummy. If he had a preference for mummies he had a contact that they could purchase one from. The less fresh the better.

  “So you're the man that Dr.White was talking about? An apology for nearly killing me is probably out of the cards?”

  The young man's voice carried a weight to it. Wayne recognized it as the spiritual bleed. It wasn’t an uncommon ability even normal people could end up developing the condition. Often this consisted of politicians, actors/actresses, and businessmen. If he’d done it consciously maybe he wasn’t a total waste. On the other hand if he was to waste spiritual energy on it unconsciously he’d have a long way to go.

  “I am Wayne Sauvage. You can call me, teacher for the duration of our time together. As for your apology, I don’t have the faintest clue who you are.”

  “The Paladin the other day. The one you mopped the floor with but then let get away. He was targeting me.”

  Wayne raised an eyebrow, the motion looked odd on his thin face. He remembered something about a boy back then. Something about no, he couldn’t be bothered to remember. His attention had been on his own research data.

  “If all you want is an apology then I am sorry. Now onto business.”

  Nate was surprised at his devil may care attitude. He’d brought up the Paladin to see if it would get anything out of him. It turned out to be useless. Wayne sat next to Nate and reached out his hand. Nate gave him his arm just as he had with Dr.White.

  “I see. Interesting. Not too bad. You do pass. You even have a candidate for your first spirit secured. That will save us time. The first is often either a throw away or a cornerstone. You’ll only know once you're further down the road and decide if it's worth keeping around. Did you use a Blot weapon? What a fool.”

  Nate was stunned by the man’s near instant diagnosis. It had taken nearly twenty minutes for the doctor. He’d done it in a mere instant. He tried to set his amazement aside and focus on what needed to be addressed. Starting with what he figured meant the Bayonet.

  “Blot weapon?”

  “At one time it referred to a spirit item. Things that house, embody, or conduct spirits. It's taken on a bit of a different name now. I’m not aware of how it was produced but I did get the chance to dissect one once. It was surprising to say the least.”

  “How do you dissect a weapon?”

  “It's simple really, you just cut it open to reveal what's hidden inside. Have you ever imagined what it would be like to take a hundred people, put them in a room and then compact that space down to the size of a hand. No, I didn’t think you would. There are some complex magics involved for certain. It even deforms your soul as you have experienced."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Nate made a pensive face. The thought of being crammed together with hundreds of people was uncomfortable. Worse than that was being forced into something as mundane as a bayonet. The thing had even warped his soul. Noticing the young man's look he continued.

  “You don’t have to worry. Once you are a necromancer the fused area of soul on your hand won’t be a problem. You can’t recover it from my knowledge but you will eventually find that our bodies are beyond such things.”

  “Are you saying that I’ll eventually replace my entire body?”

  “Only if you want too. I myself have a variety of parts replaced. No, I will not tell you which ones and where they are located.”

  “I will not ask, Teacher.”

  Wayne was taken aback by the politeness that the young man was showing. He even called him Teacher. Maybe teaching wouldn’t be too bad. A second pair of hands as strong as his could hold up a number of parts.

  “Where do we start?”

  “Here, do you feel the pool of spirit within your body?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Every necromancer school of thought has a different method for the formation of your soul. In simple terms you must make it not only a stable location, so that you will not die but also one for shelter. Let me explain using your recent experiences. You were attacked by the Paladin. If I was to tell you they are related to Blot weapons, what would you infer about them?”

  Nate paused putting each piece together. The weird Blot weapons, it had to mean the Bayonet. The bayonet had made him feel stronger but not by much. It had also whispered thoughts into his mind. If he thought about how Paladin Wood moved. Was his armor all just one huge Blot weapon? If so then his soul would fuse to his flesh all across his body.

  “So their very soul is connected to the Blot and their flesh.”

  “Close enough. I’ve killed a good number and ripped their corpses to pieces. Each time I've found that their soul is being pulled at by the Blot. It pulls and pulls till it not only stretches the soul but the body as well.”

  “Then talking in your shelter analogy. I need to build or structure my soul to protect itself.”

  “Not a bad summation. Take this book.”

  Wayne handed him a leather bound book. On its front cover was written “Audebert Structure”. Within was knowledge collected by the Grandmaster some of which dates back to ancient Egypt and the Priest Imhotep. An architect and grand priest who wielded tremendous power.

  “You will study this for a few days. I will explain the key points. All Necromancers make a structure out of their souls. As I alluded too before. I will preface what I'm saying now because I realize how this will seem. Never tell anyone what the structure of your soul is. My soul is made out of a collaboration of factories, mechanics garages, warehouses, and engineering facilities. Each building houses a myriad number of souls. This is the secret that I give to you as per the Grandmasters orders.”

  “Then, is this? I see. Normally a necromancer will only have a single structure made out of their soul. What you're offering me is the chance to have multiple. Is that right Teacher?”

  Wayne smiled happily. When he was sent here he didn’t have much belief in what would come of it. This young man was smart enough to catch on without the drawn out explanation.

  “Correct. Other families and clans have their own special methods. This one is ours. I will guide you for the rest of the day in the process. Once I leave you will need to practice until I come back in two days. If you are able to complete this task you will be a first class necromancer. Mind you that's in name only.”

  “Yes, Teacher. I’ll get it done.”

  Wayne paused, he thought for a second. It had been a long time since he’d formed his own Spiritual base. His lack of teaching experience was working against him. Something was on the tip of his tongue. What did he overlook? He looked into Nate’s bright blue eyes.

  For a long moment he sat stumped. Something that was normal for him but not for new necromancers. There had to be an explanation. A sudden movement inside of Nate’s soul pulled his attention. It was the spirit inside his body. To be precise the spirit inside his soul pool. It would have been bad if he didn’t mention this.

  “What is it?”

  “Sorry, I almost made a blunder. Did you want to keep that spirit?”

  “Yes, It's helped me many times.”

  “Good, Good. If you had done what I said you would have killed it.”

  Nate’s face blanched at the thought of killing off his helper. He’d grown fond of and attached to the thing. It surely was one of the reasons he was still alive at the moment.

  “That isn’t something to just forget. He’s my partner!”

  “Yes, Yes. Sorry. Here use this ring. The soul will go into it until you form your first building. I should mention you will feel some changes when this happens."

  “What do you mean by changes?”

  “The Grandmaster mentioned you can’t feel pain. Is that true?”

  “Yes, how is that relevant?”

  “Ha. Well, that spirit seems to have been helping you for a long time. Much of its strength is gone. Fused into your own body. It's why the portion in your hand is of no consequence. But nothing is free.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Fear began to creep into Nate's voice. The slowly dawning idea was not one he wanted to think about.

  “It is simple. For the use of its healing and strengthening effect, it cursed you with the inability to feel pain. So when you remove the spirit you will feel all of the pain it was removing. Until at which point a pact is formed and you move it back.

  Nate’s face was pale, he felt sick. Nauseous. All the pain his body was in currently. It was all being taken away by the little spirit. If he was to get it all back how badly would he have to suffer. For the first time in a while he hesitated. Would he even be able to do as the Necromancer commands while in that pain?

  “Don’t worry, this is why I'm only giving you today, and the two following to complete it. The curse will still affect you to a certain degree. On the day I return the curse will fully be released.”

  “What will that do?”

  “All the pain deferred from before the ring's use will come back all at once. You are guaranteed to die of shock.”