My undead, especially Hatsumi, attracted a lot of attention from the new first years. Especially since I was the only necromancer with tier three. Florence, Archibald, Jack and Simon were still a group. They had not picked a fight yet but it was likely only a matter of time.

Leo seemed to have some new friends. He also had an undead wolf following him around everywhere.

Valeria was smiling at us a lot but we only exchanged a few pleasantries. Maybe she was finally catching on, or she was plotting another way to get close to us.

But such concerns were currently not on my mind. I was on the way to the best class, advanced death magic. It was the first of the new year.

Tim and Tom were still here. They had passed the first year and they still had their tier two skeletal cats. When I entered the room they both looked at my companion, Hatsumi.

"Wow, is this your vampire?" Tom asked.

"Is she really a tier three?" Tim added.

"Yes, I am a tier three vampire." Hatsumi replied, politely.

Nyx entered the room as well. She took one look at the skeletal cats and then ignored them. Ivy and Yoru followed her as she walked towards a desk and jumped on top of it.

Tim looked at his cat and sighed. "We can't raise anything more exciting than a tier two. Not even an elemental one. You have two tier three…"

"Is it only two? Are those cats tier three as well?" Tom asked.

"Only Nyx is a tier three. But she does command the other two a lot, which is why they seem more intelligent." I explained. Then I frowned at my desk. My cats had taken almost all of the space. There was barely enough room for a book.

"Have you two considered joint casting?" Hatsumi asked the twins.

"What?" Tom replied, looking confused.

"Joint casting would help you raise better undead." Hatsumi replied.

I nodded. "I have done some joint casting with my friends. Now that you are in the second year it should be easy to take a class on it. It requires a lot of trust but you are twins…"

"I suppose we do trust each other." Tim mused.

"Could we make a vampire like that?" Tom wondered.

"Um, a vampire is complex and requires other elements. And you probably should stay away from a tier three. Keep in mind that it is still one person who controls the undead. But a joint casting might help you create something more complex. Maybe try enhancing one with more death magic?" I suggested.

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The twins were pondering that when Leo arrived, followed by a skeletal wolf. He looked at my desk, which had been taken over by cats and shook his head. "Koyuki, you need to properly control your minions. If you are that lax with your vampire it will lead to disaster."

"Don't worry about Hatsumi, she is only a threat to my enemies." I replied with a smile, while petting Nyx.

"Wow. Your smile can look really sinister. Did you practise that?" Tom asked.

I was saved from coming up with an answer as Gronir arrived.

"Greetings students! We have an exciting year ahead of us. No doubt you have already met Koyuki's latest creation!" He said with a big smile. "She will join us and learn death magic alongside you."

Hatsumi was sitting next to me and waved at the other students. Her desk was surprisingly cat free. I mentally commanded Ivy to move to her.

Meanwhile, Gronir continued: "The first topic this year will be specialisations! I know you have a separate class focused on that but death magic is rare. I like to make sure that you are properly prepared for your choice. Let's take spellblades for example. A death magic spellblade is often called a death knight. Of course, there are also some undead called death knights but there is no relation between the two."

Leo raised his hand.

"Leo."

"Why are death magic spellblades different?" He asked.

Gronir nodded. "A good question. The answer is necromancy. As a spellblade, half of your mana is usually permanently used up by the runes. That limits your mana pool. But controlling undead also limits your mana pool. That means you might lose one advantage of death magic, raising minions. If you are a death knight you will have to either give up on minions, or give up on using a lot of magic in combat."

Tom raised his hand.

"Tom."

"So are death knights weak?" He asked.

Gronir chuckled. "Oh no, far from it. Death magic is great at killing. It lacks defense. Being a spellblade makes you tougher but an earth spellblade will enhance that further. Death knights often rely on good armour for that. But their magic is absolutely deadly. Some still go the minion route. If a death knight manages a few powerful undead they become a true nightmarish force to fight. They won't be flinging around spells anymore but a death knight with a small group of tier two, maybe a tier three, is very powerful."

"What about Koyuki? Could she become a death knight with minions and magic?" Tim asked, forgetting to raise his hand. Gronir did not mind.

"Ah. The truly powerful don't play by the rules, that is true. Someone with a large enough core could become a truly terrifying spellblade. An archmage could manage a group of tier three, while still having some mana left for a few spells. But on the other hand, they could also raise a legion of undead as a normal necromancer. The amount of mana bound by becoming a spellblade would raise thousands of minions, for an archmage." Gronir replied.

Hatsumi raised her hand.

"Hatsumi."

"But those tier three could raise undead on behalf of their mistress, correct?" She asked.

"Yes and no. Those tier three would face the same restrictions. Meaning if they put all their mana towards minions they would be weaker in combat. And you would need really powerful tier three for them to actually raise an army. More powerful tier three also need a larger amount of mana from your core. Then there is the problem of loyalty. As we have discussed in the past, your undead have to follow your commands. But they can sometimes be creative with interpreting orders." Gronir explained.

Leo raised his hand.

"Leo."

"How powerful do you need to be to become a death knight and raise a few tier three?" He asked.

"A few?" Gronir chuckled. "Maybe start with one. Generally you need to be a senior mage to get your tier three permit. Until your core is that big you are likely going to be overwhelmed by the tier three. But a death knight who is a senior mage could certainly have a tier three. Ideally they would raise it in a joint casting."

All that talk about cores did make me wonder. Hatsumi and Nyx were not using that much mana. Certainly more than Frank, or any of my regular skeletons. But I could control a lot of tier three, even with half my core.

I raised my hand.

"Koyuki."

"Is your core the only limit?" I wondered.

"For tier two and tier one, mostly yes. For tier three? It's a bit more complicated. More bonds can weaken your overall control of your undead. They can also lead to more magical fatigue." He explained.

So if you had too many tier three undead they might break free. Assuming they wanted to be free, I suppose. Not that I had any plans for more tier three undead currently. I was quite lucky with Hatsumi. She had turned out great. And Nyx was amazing too.

I contemplated becoming a death knight but I liked the idea of becoming a normal necromancer more. Somehow the idea of undead legions appealed to me. Especially since the circulation boosted my body anyway.

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