O, Your Holiness!

Chapter 6: Into the Magic?

grAh! GRrggh! 

Strange voices echoed from behind the darkness at the end of the hall. Behind that darkness, there was still a room or whatever that must have accommodated more zombies.

The noises from the batlle a while ago had disturbed the undeads. O was fortunate that no zombie came running in as there was no more lamplight beyond the point where he now stood. 

"We'd better back off. Restrategize.” O voiced his thoughts. He did not realize that he started to have a new habit. He immdiately rushed to safety in the room where he came back to life. “Narrator, display the skill list!” 

O felt like he immediately became good in using staff for no reason. O turned to the third page of the list and found the answer to his guess. 

~List of Passive Skills~ 

Magic Mastery (Lv.1) 

Staff Mastery (Lv.1) 

Mace Mastery (locked) 

Shield Mastery (locked) 

“Oh, no wonder I can swing this club like a pro fighter.” 

Apparently, O's passive ability to use a staff-type weapon had been unlocked. O remembered the sensation he felt when he made the rotten meat mixture earlier. 

“Narrator, how do I unlock these abilities?” 

O had thought that his skills would be unlocked if his assimilation level reached a certain level. However, it seemed that was not the case. He felt like he was just his normal self, until he swung the staff to attack the zombies. He suddenly felt familiar with those moves used for fighting, even though he never did any in his previous life 

“”You can open it by studying it manually, intentionally or unintentionally. You can raise its proficiency with constant practice.”"

O concluded the Narrator's explanation by his own comprehensive capability ... if he used the weapons properly, the locked abilities would be unlocked. The better and more often the movement was repeated, the higher the skill level will be. Well, it's no different from O's previous life. The more often someone used an ability, the more skilled that person would. O himself often calculated mathematical equations without tools and increasingly felt that his head had become some kind of calculator. 

It's just that, the difference in this world was, I can immediately become skilled just by knowing the moves … 

“What about magic?” O finally interested in that ability of his. He had done an impirtant evaluation from the previous battle. He had to optimize all the potential that existed within his mew body, including magic. Wasn't he a Lich, who should have high proficiency in magic? 

“”As a Lich, your magical abilities will be locked one by one along with your assimilation level.”” For something O didn't know, the Narrator's voice sounded excited as he explained that. 

“Hoooo!” O was truly impressed. “What magic can I use now?” 

“”Identification Magic.”” 

O stroked his beard (or chinbone). O thought that he had heard of that magic somewhere. "Okay, show me how!" 

A circular formation appears in O's vision. Within the circle were various symbols and unique geometric shapes. 

“”This circle is a magic formula. You just need to imagine this formula and then say the incantation or spell: 'Intelligo'.” 

O examined the formula carefully, then follows the Narrator's instructions. “Intelligo!” 

A similar magic formation appeared at the tip of O's forefinger. The circle glowed blue, like holographic technology that O never had the chance to enjoy in his previous life. 

O directed the circle to an object; to a candle whose flame was wriggling in the corner of the room. Somehow he suddenly knew how to use identification magic. Was it because of the level 1 Magic Mastery skill? 

The circle floated like a disc weapon. Moments later, a stream of information filled O’s head. 

-- Perpetual Candle. This candle uses the mana that is freely moving around itself as an energy source. The average usage life of the Perpetual Candle can be up to 80 years. --

“Whoa! Amazing! It’s like using G**gle Lense!” O jumped joyfully like a child who was given his favorite candy. Of course at the time, O looked more like a creepy Halloween doll than an adorable child ... 

“Intelligo!” O chanted a second time. This time he threw the blue circle that appeared on his forefinger towards his weapon. 

-- A magic wand made of Sacred Wood; wood taken from the Sacred Tree, Ecclesia. This type of wood was very effective for warding creatures of darkness and chanting magics of holy elements. --

“Eh? No wonder this club is so effective against those zombies.” O stroked his missing beard. “Eh, is this thing dangerous for me too?” 

O was a Lich, one of the creatures of darkness. Wouldn't it be dangerous for him to play around with such a divine item? 

“And it sounds like a rare wood, too. How can there be such a rare heirloom here, but not a single piece of clothing?” 

The Narrator didn't answer, even though O was asking for real. Of course, the Narrator was a system to guide him, not a search engine which connected to the internet. Or maybe, the answer regarding the staff was not important and not related to him at all. 

O shrugged. He turned his attention back to his weapon. What he thought was a giant club turned out to be a magic staff. Hey, but if you could beat things with it, why not? 

O then cleared the magic formation that filled his vision and tried again to cast the identification magic. “Intelligo!” 

…… 

However, no blue circle appeared on the tip of his finger. 

“Hey, Narrator. Do I have to imagine the magic formula before I can cast the magic?” 

""That's right, Master."" 

"What if I can't remember the formula?" 

“”A lowly magician carries around a magic scroll or magic book to help them cast magics.”” The Narrator's sarcastic reply stabbed right into O’s heart. “”Master is a Lich, a high level magician, surely you have much better memorizing and mental capabilities.”” 

“But in fact, I'm not…” 

O wasn't lying. He could remember many things and even do math by rote, but he had a fatal flaw: spatial ability. From a young age, O found it very difficult to understand complex shapes and spaces. Even just mentally describing it was very difficult for him. Because of that limitation, O got lost many times. Not even GPS technology could help him much. 

“”…”” The Narrator was speechless.

“… So?” 

""… Okay. I will help you to display the magic formulation you need, Master.” 

O seemed to hear the Narrator take a deep breath. “Yeeha! You are the best! Like those hi-tech virtual assistants in the sci-fi movies.” 

"All right, Narrator," said O again, "Is there any offensive magic I can learn now?” 

“”... Nothing.”” 

“…” O's mood quickly changed again. He forgot not to get his hopes up. He was almost frustrated. “What level of assimilation is required to learn an offensive spell?” 

“”You need at least 2% assimilation level to learn Fireball Magic.”” 

“Aaaaargh!” 

The fierce battle against the two undeads only gave him 0.03% assimilation rate. This means that he must defeat at least 13 similar undead to reach a 2% assimilation rate. O grabbed his hair which was now gone. He crumpled his skull. Frustrated. "Yes, it's useless, then! I became a Lich for nothing!" 

...

It took O a moment before he calmed down. Well, what choice did he have? 

"Hey, Narrator. What happens if my assimilation is 100%?” O just realized this. The assimilation system was like the experience point system in video games, but it didn't determine the level state. 

“”You can evolve into a stronger species.”” 

“Oho …” O found some source of motivation again. 

O shouldered his staff and took 3 candles from the corners of the room. He would return to the dark hall and face whatever kind of undead were there. "I don't have to face 13 undead at once, right? I can lure them one by one, and kill them."

O opened the door of the room with forced confidence. His hands were actually shaking. The thrill of the last battle had not leave him yet. 

grAh! GRrggh! 

The voices were still hiding in the darkness of the hall. O threw a candle into the darkness, toward the voices. 

The candle landed on the ground and rolled. The flames shrank a little, but when the candle stopped rolling, the flames returned soon and chased away the darkness … 

GrHaAU?! 

There were dozens of zombies piled up at the narrow passageway door. They jostled and squeezed at each other. If there was even a slight space between them, then those dozens of corpses will flood the hall where O is standing now. 

“Fuck!” O would never run out of swearing vocabularies. 

~To be continued~