Chapter 348. It Fell from the Sky.

  “I’ll give both a shot,” I said, happy to have a couple of contracts that I could get to on my own time, instead of just being randomly summoned.

  “I’m sorry, I neglected to mention that these are both time sensitive and you must begin the quest before tomorrow morning. Due to that, I can only offer you a choice of which summoning contract you wish to accept. I have another party that will take the other one,” Ingrid advised.

  I was hoping to get a shot at both, and now I had to decide which I would prefer to do. There were pros and cons with each contract, and the first seemed like there might be something shady that this House Zarnir was trying to pull. From the vague description and the instructions for the “rescue”, I was getting the feeling this might not be a true rescue and more along the lines of a rich family trying to get their kid out of trouble.

  The necromancer’s offer was more straightforward. I just had to go in, kill the undead, and follow some disposal instructions. My only concern was the question of why a necromancer needed my help in dealing with the undead. I also wasn’t keen on having to dispose of the undead remains, whatever that entailed. Still, I was intrigued to meet a real necromancer, and the reward of a reusable summoning item pushed me in that direction.

  “I’ll take Rodnix’s contract,” I said. Both Ingrid and the system seemed to accept my decision, and a new system prompt appeared.

  You have accepted the terms of the contract presented by the necromancer Rodnix. This contract must be activated within the next 8 hours. To activate the contract, push mana into the document you currently hold, and wait for a portal to appear.

  “An interesting choice, Rico, and as always, we appreciate your business,” Ingrid said.

  “Thanks for the opportunity. I’ll check in the next time I’m in town. After this contract, I have other duties at the academy I’ll need to take care of. I’d ask that you keep an eye out for any contracts offered from my home world of Earth if you’re able to track that sort of thing,” I asked.

  “A large portion of these contracts aren’t detailed as to the specific world, but if I come across any, I’ll set them aside for you to examine, if it’s at all possible. See you soon, Rico,” Ingrid said as I made my way out of the cramped office.

  I wouldn’t mind doing a bit more shopping to see if any of the inventory in the shops had changed, but I was on the clock with my new contract. Starting it as soon as possible was probably the best choice. That way, I’d hopefully have some extra time to sleep before classes start tomorrow.

  A quick stop at a food cart on the way home made Melvin happy. This cart offered spicy chicken skewers that were slathered in a sauce that reminded me of tzatziki. I downed one, which would tide me over until a late dinner after my contract was done, but Melvin decided that four would be the right amount for him to enjoy. At least he also dissolved the wooden skewers for us, so I didn’t have make a detour to find a trash can.

  Another thought popped into my head. The academy had trash cans, like you’d see in most businesses or schools, but I had no idea how waste disposal was handled. Was there some interdimensional portal that they shoved it all through or was it just a pit with a bunch of slimes that broke everything down? I’d have to ask if I remembered, but first, I secured the door to my room, checked my gear, and began to push mana into the decaying paper of the necromancer’s contract.

  I began to get worried as the scroll absorbed the mana without any result, but once I hit a total of thirty points dumped into the scroll, a small portal opened in the middle of my bedroom. Stepping though the portal caused a system prompt to appear.

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  You are entering an environment saturated with necromantic energy, your minor resistance to the Curse of Undeath, combined with your minor Toxins resistance are sufficient to prevent any damage to your body. As a living creature, your mana in this environment will regenerate 25% slower than normal, and any Life magic spells, including healing, will operate with a 25% effectiveness penalty and have a 25% increased mana cost.

  “I see that the Summoned Market has come through for me. Welcome to my abode, I am Balthazar Rodnix,” a human-looking man said as I stepped through the portal and into a rather well-lit and well-appointed study.

  I wasn’t sure what to expect from a necromancer’s home, but this wasn’t it. The room was more like something you’d see in a Victorian Era British gentleman’s home rather than one for a mage that animated the dead. Rodnix himself seemed normal enough. He was middle-aged with a slight paunch, balding, and with dark, well-trimmed facial hair. He wore normal clothing, pants, a dress shirt, and a vest complete with a pocket watch. There were no bloodstains or dark energy flowing off him.

  “Hello, I’m Rico Kline. I hear you have some troublesome undead you’d like me to deal with,” I said, reaching out to shake his hand. Raising an eyebrow in surprise at my actions, Rodnix shook my hand. This was when his class and the magic associated with it showed up. A cold sensation encompassed my hand, and when we finished the firm handshake, I could see the skin on my palm turn a bit grey for a few moments.

  “I take it you don’t associate with many necromancers. It’s not often that the summoned help is willing to deal with a bit of discomfort to attend to the niceties of a civilized world. Please, take a seat, and I’ll explain what I need your help with. Can I offer you a Brandy or a bite of something? I promise that my chef is rather skilled, and the food he prepares is healthy for the living,” Rodnix offered.

  I took a seat in a comfortable overstuffed leather reading chair. A servant entered the room, and though it wore a butler’s outfit, it was clearly the animated skeleton of a small humanoid of some type. After declining any refreshments, Rodnix got on with the point of my visit.

  “This is a rather unique situation I find myself in. There is a nearby village, one inhabited by the living, and they often come here to trade with me. While my class utilizes the undying, I do personally require sustenance, and I appreciate the finer things in life as well. In return for their wares, I pay the village above market rates, so everyone is happy. I also get access to the remains of those villagers that don’t have other funerary arrangements in place at the time of their demise.

  “Late at night, just over a week ago, I could see something fall from the heavens, wreathed in flame. It landed in a field near the village, and though I was interested in discovering what it was, the villagers would have surely beaten me to the prize. I waited for someone to come and trade, so I could inquire about the object. Unfortunately, nobody has shown up for several days, when I typically get more than a few visitors to trade every day,” Rodnix said, pausing to sip the drink his skeletal butler had delivered.

  “I take it you sent someone to check on the village?” I asked, hoping he’d get to the point of my assignment.

  “Yes, I sent a pair of my servants, those that were less…battered than most. Neither returned, and soon after they left, I sensed my connection to them had been severed. While necromancy is my trade, I’m not without some access to other magics. Even though casting it was rather difficult, I used a scroll of scrying to observe the village. What I found was the entire population of the place had been slain, and turned into the undead,” Rodnix said.

  “Is that unusual in this place? I would suspect that undead were common, given the necromantic mana saturation the system mentioned. Also, couldn’t you just, I don’t know, take control of the undead and have one tell you what happened?” I asked.

  “Well, here’s where it gets strange. These undead, all low tier and rank zombies, were congregating in a nearby field, a field that had partially burned down. In the ashen remains of their crops, I spotted the battered object that had fallen from the sky. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the object, so I gathered some of my guardians, left my home, and attempted to make contact.

  “To my surprise, these undead completely resisted my powers. Even worse, they became aggressive once they spotted me. My guardians moved to defend me, but once in the fray, they also turned against me, and I barely managed to escape with most of my party left behind. As soon as I was out of sight, the undead, their ranks bolstered by my guardians, went back to pacing around the fallen object.

  “What I need you to do, Rico Kline, is destroy those undead so I can investigate what that object in the field really is,” Rodnix asked.

  This guy was obviously worked up and looked a bit terrified when he talked about his undead guardians turning on him. I had my work cut out for me, and I was beginning to think that this contract might be a bit more dangerous than I had expected.