The Ruined Death Knight

"Why can't you do it?" Shiro asked confused while wearing the bone mask.

Her confusion only further fuelled Danzel's own frustration.

After Shiro eat the unseasoned meat of the haired buffalo, they continued walking on those frozen lands. He informed Shiro about the light he saw and she quickly regain her vigor in the chance the light was from some kind of natives on those lands.

Which Danzel doubted.

He couldn't imagine how people could live here in the frozen lands, with only wolfs and large beasts. Sure, their meat could be turned into food, but as far as he heard, people rely on growing those large weeds called "farms" from the ground.

Though on a land poor of winter storms, snow, and ice, nothing could grow to the least of his knowledge.

Alas, he decided to spare telling his opinion on Shiro.

And as they were walking for hours without saying much, Shiro took the initiative to open the conversation about magic.

Which he wasn't against.

And currently, the conversation shifted toward her teaching them how to improve his "all mighty fireball".

"Like I told you! You simply gather glitches of fire element and concentrated it! That's wrong! You have to weave the fire mana in a way that it doesn't interfere while concentrating the weaved mana!" Shiro complained while watching Danzel's "all mighty fireball" come into existence.

"Weave the fire mana...that's easier said than done." Danzel shook his head internally.

Sure, weaving mana itself wasn't an impossible feat, but weaving the mana while fusing it with the fire element? It was quite hard. Though it did improve his "all mighty fireball" to the level of [Firebolt].

"Are you horned people like...talented by birth in the ways of magic and mana?" Danzel asked as the "all mighty fireball" almost exploded in his face.

"Nagaiki Oni! Not horned people!"

"It's about the same, no? Also, your race name is too long." Danzel shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmpf!" Shiro puffed her cheeks annoyed.

"I am not too sure, as I was too young when I left my village. Grandpa told me that we aren't proficient in magic and that most practice weapons. He told me that I am an exception and a genius in magic." Shiro said, the last bit with pride.

"I see..." Danzel said while crashing the small fireball with his hand.

"I am asking just to be sure, why do you want to learn necromancy?"

"Because it's magic..? Shiro said confused.

"Heh, you want to learn death magic for a simple reason like that?" Danzel couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sorry to disappoint you, I doubt that I could help you all that much. I focus more on the necromancy school of curse magic. You wouldn't be able to learn of my "unique" as it's like blood magic. At most I could teach you how to raise corpses into undead minions, make you able to see the vitality of others, and few of my curses."

"I focus more on close combat than being a magic caster, so most of my abilities would be useless for you." Danzel explained so that she would understand that he wasn't the greatest necromancer out there.

"Still...you can teach me the basics, no?" Shiro asked, still determined in learning death magic.

"..."

Danzel stayed silent for a moment, thinking of how he should discourage her.

Agares warned him not to teach her, but then again. Shiro clearly knew more than a few things about magic than himself. To the point that the small conversation with her allowed him to see how to improve his "all mighty fireball".

Sure, the option to get the spell [Firebolt] from the status was open. Though the whole aim of learning manually was not to rely on the status window. Learning magic on his own and getting it packaged were two different things.

While the books of Velkir were helpful, having another more experience mind in the mix would accelerate his growth in magical knowledge.

Having seen the prices of upgrading the 4th-tier skills, Danzel knew that sooner or later he would reach a point where learning manually would be more reliable in the long run. That or starting a mass genocide.

Though he had all the time in the world to learn magic, where Agares's dissatisfaction might be worse that learning faster magic, as he faintly planned to learn the skills that Agares promised him.

A dilemma.

"You know that with advancing with necromancy, would have to deal with corpses. I for myself skip many steps in welcoming the dead to death. Preparing and experimenting with corpses to see what works better or not. Before making them your own soldiers. Are you fine with that?" Danzel said in his cold voice.

However serious she was of this unless Danzel was sure that she was dead serious about learning, he would teach her, but otherwise...

"Imagine a necromancer, like me for example killing your grandfather and raising him as undead to fight against you. As impossible as this scenario is...if you learn this magic, you will be the one that raises the corpses to fight their allies and friends. Hearing that, you still interested?"

"..." Shiro stayed silent while looking for Danzel as if to see if he was joking or not. But his gazing forward without looking at her made his words sink into her mind much more heavily.

Necromancy had many forms and schools of magic.

Though the core of it is the school of undeath.

The magic to create and control immortal beings such as the undead.

Avoiding the essential type of magic is like learning fire magic with the aim of not burning anything.

It was possible, but the nature of the magic goes against the basics.

Adapting to that magic and changing is what a great magic caster is capable of, but for that, one must be aware of the basics. Completely avoiding the basics of magic is bound to limit a magic caster.

And Shiro was made aware of that by Danzel.

The other types of magic school didn't require one to question the morality of one's actions.

Most starting learning fire magic wouldn't start by thinking that learning this magic would force them to burn someone alive. Though they were exceptions

Other schools of magic were like owning a gun with the mindset of not shooting someone. Sure, the soldiers who protect their land will kill others for a cause and in the name of self-defense.

But necromancy was essential like getting a gun with the sole purpose of attempting murder.

While both types of magic could have similar results, one's mindset was important.

And the silence of Shiro further proved to Danzel, that she wasn't prepared to dive into that rabbit hole.

'Still...having her to teach me wouldn't be half bad.' He thought to himself.

The silence between the two continues for a full 15 minutes before Danzel makes his decision.

"If you want...I can teach you the less gruesome spells of mine if you want. In return, you help me out with my magic." Danzel said with an ice-cold voice.

"..." Shiro turned to look at Danzel, finding that his ethereal dark green eyes were staring back at her.

"You interested in necromancy, yes or no?" He said, his flaring eyes flickering ominously.

"Mhm...alright." Shiro nodded, though by her expression one could see that she wasn't too sure.

She wasn't used to Danzel being so...blunt in stating the reality of the situation.

"Though if you change your mind, I could also teach you the more gruesome spells, particularly the one that raises undead from corpses. For now, though, I will teach one useful ability that I use quite often. One that allows you to see whoever is dead with your eyes."

Hearing that, Shiro leaned her head to the side confused.

"Isn't that ability...useless? Why would I need something like this if my eyes can judge for themselves if one is...dead or not?"

Danzel shook his head.

"I will let you know, that no spell is heartily useless. For example, this spell." Danzel said while bringing out two mana arms.

"I heard from many that this spell is useless and that is only used in helping a magic caster with cleaning his room, but what if-" Danzel brought out 2 daggers from his storage ring and throated it into the air.

Controlling the mana arms, they flew and caught the daggers before flying and piercing a lone tree.

"-you gave them weapons? The mana arms by themself don't have much strength to speak of, and they break easily, but give them daggers and such a spell that can be maintained by focus becomes deadly."

Danzel recalled the mana arms with the daggers and collected them back into his storage ring.

"The ability to see if someone is dead can be useful based on how you use it. For example, does your race... Nagaiki Oni was it? Have a dark vision?"

Shiro shook her head. "No."

"Then if you learn this ability, you will be able to see the living even in darkness. And if you advantage it to a level such as mine... you will be able to see others through walls. Knowing that, do you think that it is still useless?"

"Looking at it this way it does sound useful..." Shiro said while making a thoughtful expression.

"Knowing the capabilities of one spell is extremely important. The hardest opponents that I faced were the ones who used their spells in a unique way after all."

He remembered the archmage who now had his soul trapped inside his sword and that one girl that was in the group of adventurers and used earth magic by moving the ground.

While the archmage by himself was from an entirely different level of magic caster he faced so far, if he had to give which enemy had the best potential, it would have been that girl despite the fact he met many 3rd-tier magic casters.

"Magic isn't just learning, but also putting into practice." Danzel explained.

His words reflected many pieces of advice for war veterans that face the wrath of the magic caster.

The strong magic caster was scary, but the truly dangerous magic caster were those who knew their spells at best.

This a lesson that many magic casters learn way too late when going to the battlefield for the first time...