Necromancer Dreams of Mechs Chapter 36: Chapter 42

Read chapter 36 of Necromancer Dreams of Mechs by Magic on NovelPedia.

Chapter 36: Power Wash Color bled back into the world as Rngallia vanished from my sight, and Harold stretched lazily across my shoulder. “You made your choice?” asked the metallic cat, sprawled like a towel on its back. “In the name of not having nightmares about this for the rest of my possibly eternal life,” I sighed. Harold’s feline face split into a smug grin. “You don’t even need to sleep, so that was an option,” the cat snickered. Then, with a purr of delight, he added, “This new update we got, though? If you’re a man of your word, this is it for you. The new Necro Mech R&D feature your god slipped into me? Absolute game changer.” “Oh? That good?” I asked—only to be interrupted as Highlander came barreling out of the glittering six-foot grass. “I have returned! Spotless!” the tiny necro mech declared. He wasn’t. He’d just smeared the filth deeper into his joints. Alric was watching with quiet amusement, though I caught a flicker of a frown when I raised my hand to conjure magic. I had forgotten, in the blur of recent events, that I’d learned the basics of several elements. I never used water, though—I never truly needed it. Dirt eventually dried and flaked off me anyway. My natural necromancer’s aura steadily drained moisture and life from anything that lingered too close, unless it had resistance. But now, a ball of water swirled in front of my palm. People nearby gasped and gathered with nervous curiosity. I crouched low, and small stones rose from the ground, embedding themselves into the water as it began to spin. The final touch would be heat. Rather than puzzling over how to excite the atoms, I cheated—necromancy style. I extended the bone-hands from beneath my gloves, then produced two iron bearings the size of coins. Tossing them to the ghostly hands, I manipulated the metal to melt and wrap around their spectral forms. Dark purple light flared as the iron solidified into glowing gauntlets. “That is new,” Highlander noted. Alric stared at me like I’d just grown a second head. “What are those for?” he asked, stepping back as the spectral hands floated forward, cradling the stone-laden water. “Washing my disgusting friend,” I replied. The gauntlets’ palms flared orange-red, making the water hiss and bubble. Highlander froze, his little body trembling. “You wouldn’t.” “Oh, he really would,” Alric muttered. The mech shrieked as the water sucked him in and churned him around, stone fragments scrubbing against his armored hide. “The pain!” he cried, flailing as if I’d thrown him in a vat of acid. I wasn’t trying to boil the idiot—just scour him. The stones and heat were enough to strip away the gore and grime. After a moment, the bubble burst with a hiss. A sparkling-clean Highlander landed on all fours, then spun wildly like a broken blender to shake off the water. Now gleaming, the Jr. Necro Bone Lord crouched low, his claws splayed, hissing like an undead cat. “What is the meaning of this?! I sparkle! How am I supposed to strike fear into mortal hearts when I sparkle?!” I laughed. Alric joined in. Soon, the entire camp echoed with laughter. And for the first time in a while, I felt… lighter. I needed this. Seeing them laugh, seeing joy on their faces, it made me wonder: what kind of villain did I want to be? The so-called “good people” of this world considered most of these folk worthless—tools at best, fodder at worst. Did I need to be evil to everyone ? Or just the parasites with their hands on the levers of power, swinging their trousers like swords behind desks? “Boss,” Alric said, pulling me from my thoughts, “how can you just casually use magic like that?” “Practice, mostly. A little knowledge from my world. Why?” Before he could answer, a woman stepped forward from the crowd. Brown hair tied back. Glittering green robes. A sharp red wizard’s hat. Her face was pointed but pretty, her brown eyes plain—except for something unusual flickering in them. Hope. “Because you are a necromancer,” she said, her voice st