"Hup!"
I am currently practicing Conjuration magic in the main hall on the first floor with Phinis Gestor. However, despite the crystal ball's claim that I have immense talent, I'm hitting a wall.
"Hmm. Your breathing is fine and your Magicka is sufficient, so I wonder what the problem is..."
The spell I attempted was a basic Conjuration spell: Bound Sword. However, the Magicka coalescing in the air failed to take the proper shape of a blade and simply shattered.
Phinis looked quite disappointed, my performance clearly falling far short of his expectations.
"Haa... haa..."
I've never squeezed out my Magicka like this before. Since my mana pool is small, I keep running dry during training, leading to instant exhaustion.
"I heard your talent was exceptional... but frankly, from what I'm seeing now, you're below average."
Did that crystal ball lie? No, that can't be it.
"Haa— Ah. Now that I think about it, she said I had high potential for Necromancy specifically within the school of Conjuration."
I spoke while catching my breath.
"Necromancy? So that was the issue."
Phinis pulled a book out of a small pouch at his waist. Handing it to me, he spoke.
"This is a tome for Conjure Skeleton, one of the representative spells of Necromancy. Give it a read."
I took the book, reading it carefully to engrave the spell formula into my mind.
It was truly strange. The information clicked into my head with incomparable ease compared to when I read the Bound Sword tome.
Confidence surged through me. Magicka spread evenly through my hands, a purple rift tore open in the air, and a skeletal soldier tumbled out.
"Ho... You succeeded less than thirty seconds after reading the book. It's a perfect form with a remarkably sturdy-looking frame to boot."
Phinis rested his chin on a hand, his fingers shaped like a pistol. Unlike before, he let out a gasp of genuine interest.
"Then try reading this one."
Phinis reached for the pouch at his waist—
But he didn't pull out a book. Instead, he suddenly charged a spell and conjured something.
It was a literal bookshelf.
'Wait, is that even possible?'
I stared with my mouth agape at a ridiculous spell I had never seen once in the game.
"Heh. You look quite surprised. Naturally, this isn't an official spell; it's one I developed myself."
As expected of a man who earned the title of Master of Conjuration. There was just something different about him.
Anyway, he ran his finger along the shelf and pulled out a few books.
"Now, next is the Skeleton Overlord. It's a massive jump in difficulty, but I believe you can do it."
I confidently read the Skeleton Overlord tome and prepared to cast the spell, but I hit an unexpected hurdle.
My Magicka was insufficient. My Magicka was currently at the base value of 100.
Even after inflating the stat with the necklace and mage hood Phinis had lent me, it only reached 190.
"Professor. I don't have enough Magicka..."
The Skeleton Overlord seemed to be an Adept-level spell at least. And I didn't have any perks to halve the Magicka cost yet.
"Give me your hand for a moment."
He slipped off a Silver Sapphire Ring from his left index finger and handed it to me.
"This ring reduces the Magicka cost of Conjuration spells by twenty-five percent."
To go this far for me...
"Thank you. I'll just borrow it for a moment."
I took a breath, recalled the sensation from before, gathered my Magicka, and cast the spell.
Fshhhhh—!
A skeletal knight radiating an eerie blue light from its eye sockets emerged from the purple portal. I had succeeded in casting an Adept-level spell within half a day of starting Conjuration training.
"This is incredible...!"
Even Phinis seemed genuinely shocked this time. Plus, my Conjuration level went up.
I immediately began reading the other Necromancy books Phinis provided.
**
"—And then the Draugr went 'thwack' right on the bear trap Mister had set up earlier!"
"So, what happened next?"
"Obviously, thanks to Mister, we were able to take down the boss easily."
"Whoa— that's amazing!"
At that same time, Ha-neul, who had become quite friendly with Eloise, was busily chatting away while recounting her adventure stories.
Of course, she kept her mouth shut about the dragon.
"Life as an adventurer must be so exciting. I just rot away in the library every day..."
Through their conversation, Choi Ha-neul had learned many things about Eloise.
She learned that Eloise's family had been priests for generations due to their natural talent for Restoration magic, and that she had been pushed by her parents to come all the way from her homeland in High Rock to Winterhold in Skyrim.
And she learned that Eloise was currently feeling considerable stress from her studies. Ha-neul felt that, if played right, she could convince Eloise to join her.
The exciting adventure stories were all for that purpose.
"Hey, would you like to go on an adventure with me? I guarantee you'll have fun!"
Ha-neul gauged the mood before asking directly when the timing felt right.
"An adventure? But if my parents find out I left the College, they won't leave me alone..."
Eloise was a somewhat passive and timid woman. Consequently, she was very sensitive to her parents' expectations.
Choi Ha-neul grabbed Eloise's shoulders with both hands and spoke while making eye contact.
"Are you going to keep living like that? You should live how you want to, not according to your parents' will!"
Having read her fair share of books, she sounded quite convincing, and it seemed to work well on Eloise.
"B-but still, I came all the way to the College... I don't mean to look down on it, but being an adventurer is a bit..."
'I have no choice. Mister told me to keep it a secret, but she's going to be a teammate!'
Ha-neul didn't want to lose Eloise, a peer she could actually communicate with well. Besides, her magic skills seemed fairly decent.
She grabbed Eloise's wrist and pulled her into a ladies' room. She locked the door tightly and closed the windows.
"Cover your ears."
"What... what are you planning to do?"
Eloise was a bit flustered after being dragged along by Ha-neul's surprisingly strong grip.
Regardless, Choi Ha-neul took a deep breath and shouted the one word that would surely convince her.
"Fus!"
"Eek!"
Even though it was only one syllable, the incredible sound wave made the air in the bathroom vibrate and cracked the glass.
That's right, she had used the Thu'um. That short, powerful word resonated deep within Eloise's heart.
"Y-you... how did you do that?"
Eloise's cherry-pink lips trembled as she spoke.
Choi Ha-neul grinned and let out a line worthy of a protagonist.
"To be honest... I am the Dragonborn!"
**
Black Magicka, reminiscent of darkness itself, surged into the cold corpse of a crow. The crow's body spasmed as if undergoing post-mortem rigor mortis.
"Caw... caw!"
Soon, the crow flapped its wings and stood up on two legs, cawing loudly. Its eyes glowed with a purple light.
Da-dun!
[Conjuration Level Up!]
ㄴ Current Conjuration Skill: Level 44
[Level Up!]
ㄴ Current Level: 7
"Good work. With this, I have taught you everything I can regarding the Necromancy branch of Conjuration."
I had been practicing Necromancy with Phinis for several hours and managed to make incredible progress.
Because my Conjuration level rose, my character level increased as well, and I poured all my attribute points into Health.
As for Perk points, I invested them into Archery damage, Novice Conjuration, and added defense for Light Armor.
"Is it over now?"
"Indeed. You could be considered my equal, at least in the field of Necromancy. Your talent is staggering."
Choosing to come to the Winterhold Community College was the right move—I've grown so much stronger.
'I wonder who made such a great decision. Oh wait, that was me.'
I cracked a joke to myself, feeling giddy inside.
"It's almost bedtime, so I shall return to my quarters. If you wish to learn other types of Conjuration magic, let me know."
With that, Phinis returned to his room. Naturally, he took back the necklace, ring, and hood he had lent me.
'Sorry, but now that I've got my magic, I'm finding a teammate and leaving.'
Since I'd become as strong as I could in magic for now, there was no reason to stay once I found a companion.
I was just about to go look for Ha-neul while offering a silent apology for my impending departure—
"Mister!"
Ha-neul found me first and called out. I turned toward her, excited at the prospect of telling her about my Necromancy progress on the way back to the inn.
"Um... hello?"
A female student with platinum-blonde hair and emerald-green eyes greeted me hesitantly.
Choi Ha-neul grinned, draped an arm over the girl's shoulder, and shouted.
"I found us a healer!"
What the hell happened here?
Later, after introduced to Eloise, Ha-neul gave me a detailed explanation of how she met her and the process of persuading her.
Currently, all of us, including Lydia, are gathered at the inn eating dinner. Since we needed to bond, I even ordered some Honningbrew Mead.
"So that's how it happened."
"Hehe. It's all thanks to my hard work!"
For once, she had done something actually worthy of praise.
"P-please look after me! I've heard a lot about you, Mister."
Eloise was a bit stiff, but she did her best to maintain eye contact as she spoke.
"Oh, and this older sister in armor is Lydia!"
"A-Ah... hello!"
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Anyway, while Eloise looked quite sturdy, she seemed much shyer than her appearance suggested.
With this, a perfect party consisting of a tank, melee DPS, ranged DPS, and support was finally complete.
I kicked my legs up onto the table, raised my mug high, and shouted.
"Alright! There will be many dangers ahead, but let's see this through together!"
Everyone responded to my toast in their own enthusiastic way.
"Yay!"
"Hehe, I look forward to working with you all."
"L-let's do our best!"
Alduin, Harkon, Miraak—just you wait. The Dragonborn party is coming.