While Necrogod stood off to the side, racking his brain and trying to figure out what exactly he should do next, a group of young girls walked over to him. None of them were particularly attractive, but the way they carried themselves made it clear they believed they were far above him.

"Freak," one of them said coldly, looking down at him with open disdain. "Ruby is calling for you. She’s waiting in the break room on the second floor."

Necrogod let out a tired sigh.

Great. Teenage nonsense.

He had far more important things to worry about than academy gossip. Damon was somewhere inside this storm of memories, and every second could matter. The last thing he needed right now was to get dragged into some petty social drama.

He turned as if he was about to walk away.

Before he could take more than a step, one of the girls behind him scoffed loudly.

"What’s with that attitude, freak?" she snapped. "You’d better show some respect." Her lip curled in disgust.

"The entire academy knows what kind of disgusting things you’re into. Ruby is the only person who still bothers to treat you like a human being, and you dare to turn your back when she calls for you?"

Necrogod stopped. The girls behind him seemed pleased, thinking their words had finally put him back in his place. "See?" one of them muttered smugly. "The freak knows when to listen."

He then glanced over his shoulder. The girls flinched slightly without understanding why. Something about that look made the hairs on the back of their necks stand up.

Necrogod studied them for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. "...Kids," he muttered. This wasn’t his world. This was a memory fragment. The people here weren’t real enemies or allies. They were echoes left behind by someone else’s past.

Still, if this Ruby person was important, then the memory probably revolved around her. Which meant, she might lead him to Damon.

Necrogod rubbed his temples before waving his hand dismissively. "Fine. Fine. I’m going."

The girls exchanged surprised looks. "Hmph. You should have said that from the beginning," one of them scoffed. "Follow us." They turned and began walking toward the academy building.

Necrogod followed behind them with slow steps, his eyes quietly scanning the surroundings.

Students moved through the courtyard in small groups. Some carried training weapons, others clutched spellbooks as they hurried toward their classes. The academy itself was massive, built from dark stone that gave the entire place an imposing atmosphere.

The girls led him through the large front doors of the academy and up a wide staircase. "Second floor," one of them said without looking back.

The hallway above was quieter. Most of the students were already in class. At the far end of the corridor, a door stood slightly ajar. "That’s the break room," another girl said coldly. "Ruby is waiting inside." The group turned and walked away immediately, clearly eager to be done dealing with him.

Necrogod stood there for a moment, staring at the door, before he pushed it open.

Inside the break room, a single girl stood near the window. Sunlight streamed through the glass behind her, illuminating strands of long black hair that fell down her back. She wore an academy uniform that looked far more expensive than the standard issue.

She slowly turned to face him. Sharp silver eyes met his.

And the moment Necrogod saw her, his brows furrowed. "Huh..." Because even inside this memory fragment, that girl’s presence felt anything but ordinary.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. The girl’s silver eyes moved slowly from head to toe silently. There was no disgust in her gaze like the other students had shown. She then unexpectedly rushed forward and threw herself at him. "You are such an idiot. You couldn’t have been more careful?"

Necrogod stood startled. He had never been close to anyone like this before. She pulled back from the hug and hurriedly examined him. "Are you hurt anywhere? Did those assholes do anything to you?"

Only after confirming that there was no serious injury, she sighed a little. "You are fine. Thank you, benevolent mother. You are fine. It’s fine. You don’t have to endure this sort of nonsense for much longer. I found it. There is a famous healer two towns over. His master is visiting him. That healer’s master knows how to get rid of your unholy core."

Necrogod frowned immediately. He thought that this person was at least a friend but it looked like even that was going to be a dead end.

The girl on the other hand continued. "I know. I know what you are thinking. Why would such a high ranking master help people like us?"

Necrogod raised a brow.

The girl beamed triumphantly. "He will help us. Don’t worry. I have something he is looking for so he will definitely help us. Come. Come. I will tell you the whole plan on our way there. Come on. Don’t keep staring at me like an idiot."

The girl giggled and then grabbed Necrogod’s arm, pulling him along as they left the room. They walked through some sort of shortcut where not many academy students were there. They continued walking when they eventually reached some sort of forest.

"This is it. This is where I saw the herb." The girl, Ruby, pointed towards the east. On their way here, she had already explained the whole plan. Apparently the master healer needed a rare herb and this girl had seen it somewhere in this forest.

Their mission now was to acquire this herb and then make a trade with the famous healer. Naturally, that was not going to happen but Necrogod was curious where this was all taking him. This was the only lead he had so far.

Damon had not reached out to him. He tried reaching Damon through their mental connect but their connection seemed like a one way thing. So for now, this was the only bread crumb he had. He also had a feeling that this was going to take him somewhere.

Just as Necrogod was thinking, a presence nearby caught his attention and he immediately summoned his undead. Or rather tried to. Shockingly, nothing happened. No. In fact, he did not feel anything at all. He simply had no connection with any of his undeads anymore.

Necrogod quickly tried to activate his other skills but that was also of no use. He knew the skill, he was aware of it and yet he was completely unable to use it. He checked his body hurriedly and he no longer had a mana core.

All he was able to do was muster some nether energy, that too an extremely pitiable amount. His combat ability was essentially a big fat zero. He then tried summoning his storage ring and his legendary staff and those were also no-show.

"Shit. This is bad." Necrogod mumbled.

As if on cue, a huge beast growled and appeared in front of them. "Motherfucker, I am not dying again!" Necrogod immediately took a defensive stance, preparing to fight the damn beast with his bare hands when the figure next to him flashed forward.

The bubbly young girl who seemed like an idiot until now had already charged ahead to fight the humongous beast.

***

Chapter 6 Mass Release Sponsored by Syphatrol