episode_0008

“Are you surprised?”

“Uh… … . little bit. I never thought a skeleton would be doing housework… … .”

I honestly never thought that skeletons would be used for household chores. I might have been less surprised if there was simply a skeleton.

“Black magic also varies depending on how it is used. Keep in mind that it can be a weapon that harms people, or it can be a tool that enriches life.”

I nodded my head at my grandmother’s words. It was like that just seeing it being made in our home blacksmith shop. Although they are the same axe, some are used for chopping firewood, while others are used for splitting monsters.

“Okay then, let’s spend today and tomorrow getting used to the mansion. After that, I will train you to become a warlock, so take it easy.”

“Yes.”

“The butler skeleton will guide you to the room.”

As soon as the grandmother finished speaking, a skeleton with a ribbon tied around its neck came closer.

As if my grandmother didn’t name him Butler Skeleton for nothing, he immediately led me to my room.

Of course, the room I was told I would be staying in was also quite large. It wasn’t bigger than our entire house combined, but it was about three times the size of my previous room.

“Wow… … .”

Even the furniture inside was quite luxurious. There was nothing luxurious about it, including a bed big enough for me to roll over in, a wardrobe with ornate decorations, etc.

When I dived into the bed, the feeling of my whole body being wrapped around me felt incredibly luxurious. Thanks to this, I fell asleep immediately after diving. Although I rode a skeleton horse to this place, the travel process was not all that comfortable.

In the end, unable to overcome the rush of sleep, I fell asleep and quickly began to adapt.

The next day, I went to look for clothes to wear for a while and walked around the mansion to learn about its structure. Because it was a very large mansion with a basement, it was necessary to learn its structure.

Anyway, after spending the first and second days getting used to it, I began the process of becoming a warlock in earnest.

“Andrew, first of all, in order to learn black magic, you need to become familiar with it. The most suitable method for this is material handling.”

However, I did not learn about black magic right away. Just as becoming a blacksmith requires a certain level of stamina and strength, black magic requires familiarity with black magic.

For that reason, I started refining the materials needed for black magic from the storage room in the basement. In a word, a life of chores had begun.

“Wook, that’s disgusting.”

However, there was one thing that was the most problematic in my chore life. I don’t know if it was because it was a necessary ingredient for black magic, but it was quite disgusting. It was very disgusting because they were by-products of monsters or lumps of unknown identity. There were many things ranging from disgusting smells to disgusting looks and feel. There were some things that were overall disgusting.

“The small red crystal you see here is a by-product created by monsters naturally absorbing ether. People call it by many names, such as Ether Stone, Blood Crystal, Heart Stone, and Mana Stone, so keep in mind. Warlocks usually call it Crystal.”

In particular, the most disgusting thing was extracting crystals from the monster’s corpse. It is located near the heart or solar plexus, but the location is different for each individual, so it had to be split here and there. The process of finding the crystal itself was very disgusting.

In addition, I went through the process of preparing and collecting all kinds of materials. The least disgusting and easiest part was handling ingredients like poisonous plants. The only thing the skeletons did was work on the parts where the poison was strong, and medicines and other materials were added according to the situation.

Anyway, after learning how to prepare all kinds of ingredients, I started to get bored. I came here to become a black magician, but I had no choice since I was only training materials without learning black magic.

After thinking about it for a while, I went to see my grandmother.

“Grandma, how long do I have to prepare the ingredients?”

“Andrew, until you get used to the dark magic. Are you bored? but… … . Material preparation is the safest way to adapt to black magic, but it is also the most tedious method.”

I smiled sheepishly and scratched my head at the grandmother’s words that hit the nail on the head.

“But when do you get used to that dark magic?”

“Umm… … .”

My grandmother looked worried for a moment in response to my next question. How should I explain it? He seemed to be thinking.

“Andrew, are there any changes in the sensations you feel while preparing black magic ingredients? Compare the beginning and now.”

“Compared to the first time? uh… … . Something a little less disgusting? No, it’s still disgusting when you touch it. It’s squishy and sticky.”

Honestly, that was the disgusting thing, both at first and now.

And, my grandmother looked embarrassed by my answer.

“Is that all? Did you ever feel a bit cold or scared?”

“Not really? I just had the feeling that if I touched that thing, it would be disgusting… … .”

“… … Was there anything at all? Not at all?”

“Yes!”

All I felt when looking at the black magic ingredients was disgust.

“Huh… … . I guess I underestimated your talent. Even though I was so impressed by your talent that I brought you here… … . It’s just a waste of time for no reason… … .”

The grandmother must have been shocked by my words, and muttered to herself. I looked at my grandmother to see if something was wrong, but she was nodding as if she had decided.

“Let’s learn about black magic from now on.”

“Really?”

“The ingredients for black magic contain some dark magic. The fact that I didn’t feel anything special after seeing those materials means that there is no problem even if I learn black magic right away.”

In short, I was saying that my talent as a warlock was excellent, and because of that, it was okay to skip preparing the materials.

To be honest, the time I spent preparing those disgusting ingredients was a waste, but I thought it was time to learn about the ingredients. It’s probably a necessary ingredient for black magic, so you need to know the ingredients.

“Grandma, then do you call me teacher now?”

It was almost a standard practice for wizards in fairy tales and stories to call the people who taught them magic “master.” So I asked if I should do the same, but my grandmother shook her head lightly.

“Just call me grandma like you do now. I’m glad to be called ‘grandmother’ rather than ‘master’ because it feels like I have a grandson.”

I felt fortunate to see my grandmother smiling and speaking softly. I thought it would be a little awkward to call him Master.

However, along the way, another thought occurred to me. The mansion was very large and nice, but there were not many traces of people living there. There are traces, but most of them belong to my grandmother. I looked at him wondering if he had any family, but it was hard to ask that question. I had no idea what the story was.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Oh, that’s it. I have a little question, but I think it might be a bit rude.”

“I don’t know what you’re curious about, but don’t worry and ask. It is said that when you are young, you grow up doing things that are rude.”

“That… … . By any chance, do you have any family members?”

“Well, didn’t I explain it?”

However, although it was a question that I thought would be rude, the grandmother actually looked surprised. It wasn’t that I was surprised in any other sense, but it felt like I was surprised and thought, ‘Didn’t I explain it?’

“I wasn’t even married in the first place. Since I couldn’t have children anyway, I decided to enjoy life alone.”

“You can’t have children… … ?”

I felt like I was asking a really pointless question. I couldn’t figure out how to say it.

But the grandmother’s next words turned my mind blank.

“Seeing as I didn’t tell this story, it seems like I couldn’t explain it to you either. It’s a pity, but warlocks can’t see their children. It is said that the warlock is too close to death to be able to create new life. The reason I went on a journey to find a successor was to find a successor who would carry on what I have achieved… … .”

My grandmother said something, but it didn’t make sense anymore.

“I… … . I’m a seedless watermelon!”

I never thought I would become a seedless watermelon!

I knelt on the floor and remained blank for a long time, unable to accept the reality that I had become a seedless watermelon. All kinds of thoughts were flooding through my head, such as what should I do next, is there really no seed, and was I trading the seed for my lifespan?

After being so frustrated for a while, I was finally able to calm down with a pat from the embarrassed grandmother.

“Andrew, why did you do that? Also, can you tell me what a seedless watermelon is?”

“I am a seedless watermelon!”

“Mi, I’m sorry!”

For a moment, I almost fell into frustration again, but I was finally able to calm down with my grandmother patting my back.

But somehow, I became my true self again and started learning things about black magic from my grandmother.

I learned the most basic curse and how to make a poison that has the same effect as a curse.

And, as if my grandmother wasn’t lying when she said I had a talent for black magic, I was able to learn black magic very easily. I was able to learn black magic without difficulty, learning in a few months what would take others years.

Moreover, in the world I lived in before, my scores were not very good, but I didn’t even feel any difficulty in learning black magic, perhaps because I received higher education. In particular, I learned things very quickly, such as applying dark magic management methods that were used as a kind of formula, or manufacturing methods that required memorization.

After spending about a year like that, occasionally going to the village and spending some time with my parents, I learned quite a bit of black magic knowledge.

I have become accustomed to curses to the point where I can send small monsters to the goal, and I have also become accustomed to using regular magic using black magic. Using black magic, it was possible to create fire in the air and create arrows filled with black magic.

While I was getting used to black magic, I saw my grandmother coming into the mansion with the corpse of a monster. Of course, it was not the grandmother herself who brought it, but the skeletons following her.

Anyway, the grandmother who brought a monster’s corpse put it on the workbench in the basement.

“Your achievements are exceeding my expectations, so I think it’s time to create your own skeleton, Andrew.”

“My own skeleton?”

When my grandmother said that she was finally going to make a skeleton, I started to get very excited. I was even more excited when I heard that it was my own skeleton.

If I were to compare it to a memory from my past life that suddenly came to mind, it could be said to be like the feeling of having my own car.