Chapter 38: You Should Have Something to Say

Xiahou Yan flipped back through the diary. Sure enough, in the records of Adrian’s youth, he found the name "Olivia."

According to the information in the diary, Olivia seemed to be a female classmate of Adrian’s at the Mage Academy during his youth, as well as his long-time secret crush.

However, due to his overconfidence and his pride as a Magic genius, Adrian never confessed his love to Olivia. Instead, he waited for her to take the initiative to confess to him...

In the end, Adrian suffered the same fate as countless poor souls who shrank back in the face of love. Olivia, entirely unaware of his feelings, married a young noble from the Imperial Capital after graduating from the academy. Meanwhile, Simon Adrian, who had advanced to a Grand Mage at a young age, could only watch as the woman he loved married another man. Devastated, he left the Mage Academy and sought refuge under Count Henry Igor, living as a recluse in Black Water Town and completely withdrawing from worldly affairs.

What a melodramatic romance! Xiahou Yan rolled his eyes.

He could somewhat understand why Adrian had such a massive grudge against the word "virgin"...

What was most absurd was that after Olivia died of illness, Adrian even stole her corpse back to Black Water Town and began conducting Necromancy experiments, attempting to use Magic to resurrect his beloved. Needless to say, the root source of his Necromancy experiments and the subsequent leakage of Netherworld Magic Power that created this infected zone was actually the heartbreak Adrian suffered in his youth!

"Oh, what is love, that binds us beyond life and death!" The Lord’s inner sentimental artist flared up. He sighed dramatically before flipping the diary back to continue reading.

After beginning the Necromancy experiments, Adrian’s diary entries became very brief. He had likely poured all his energy into the experiments and no longer had the time to write lengthy entries:

"Imperial Calendar, Year 191, April 15th. Failed. The Resurrection Technique turned Olivia into a zombie. No, this isn’t right. This isn’t my Olivia...

"Imperial Calendar, Year 191, April 21st. Failed. Still a zombie. I had to put her to death again. It breaks my heart, but what I want is an Olivia who can speak and think...

"Imperial Calendar, Year 191, April 23rd. Failed. How can I restore Olivia’s soul?

"Imperial Calendar, Year 191, April 26th. Failed. Henry Igor somehow heard about my experiments and even came over to persuade me to stop. Ridiculous.

"Imperial Calendar, Year 191, May 3rd. Failed. I’ve temporarily embalmed Olivia. You must hold on until the day I succeed...

"Imperial Calendar, Year 191, May 10th. Failed.

"Failed.

"Failed.

"Failed.

"...

"Imperial Calendar, Year 193, April 10th. Failed. Perhaps what I need is more powerful Magic Power?

"Imperial Calendar, Year 193, May 12th. The magic amplification circuit is complete. I am about to begin the greatest Necromancy experiment in history! Henry Igor sent his Chief Mage to check on it. That old bastard actually claimed that Magic Power of this scale was dangerous... For Olivia, I can endure any risk!

"Imperial Calendar, Year 193, May 13th. Failed. The leaked Netherworld Magic Power has infected my heart. I...

"...Olivia, I’m coming to find you."

The diary entries ended there.

Xiahou Yan closed the diary and let out a long breath. He stared at the two skeletons in the center of the Magic Array, his emotions complicated.

On the other side, Master Laurie had already stood up. The Illusory Bracelet in his hand flashed with red light, indicating that the engraving of Adrian’s Magic Rhythm was complete.

Even though the master was advanced in years and possessed a peaceful state of mind, his old face was now brimming with uncontrollable joy and pride.

Xiahou Yan took the bracelet from the master’s hand and walked over to Adrian and Olivia’s remains. After a moment of silence, he said, "Let’s take them back to the surface and find a place to bury them. Although it’s a bit late to hold a burial after eight hundred years, a dignified Eighth-Tier Grand Mage like Simon Adrian deserves a proper resting place."

Since the Lord had spoken, naturally, no one raised any objections.

Lawrence and Chris grabbed some burlap sacks and collected Adrian and Olivia’s remains. Due to the passage of time, their bones had piled together and were inextricably tangled.

The Lord frowned thoughtfully. He decided that since this was the case, they might as well be buried together without being separated. It could be considered as fulfilling Adrian’s dying wish.

Meanwhile, Master Laurie glared with greedy old eyes. With Clement’s assistance, he swept the underground corridor clean of all the books and materials left behind by Adrian.

Xiahou Yan didn’t interfere with the master’s looting process, and the reason was simple. Once they returned to the camp later, he would definitely sift through the master’s harvest personally! Since they had agreed to split this time’s spoils fifty-fifty, there was no way Xiahou Yan would let an old scoundrel like Laurie hog the lion’s share. If the master wanted to take advantage right under Lord Elliot Igor’s nose, he still lacked a few decades of experience!

After the group finished packing up, they climbed back up the secret passage shaft and retraced their steps.

Having spent a long time underground, the sky had grown a bit dim. However, as they stepped out of Adrian’s old mansion and bathed in the sunlight once more, the Death Knight Clement shed tears of excitement! This was merely a figure of speech, of course. Undead creatures couldn’t shed tears.

Xiahou Yan stroked the Illusory Bracelet on his wrist, silently watching as Lawrence and Chris dug a grave in the back garden of the old mansion and poured Adrian and Olivia’s remains into it.

After filling the grave, the Death Knight Clement used his astonishing physical strength to carry a stone slab from the roadside and plant it over the grave to serve as Adrian’s tombstone. For a Legendary Mage, this was undoubtedly far too crude a grave, but it was still much better than leaving his corpse exposed in a Magic Array.

Master Laurie, proving quite perceptive, had already chanted the Rock-Breaking Spell. Extending a finger imbued with Magic Power, he prepared to carve an epitaph for Adrian by hand. Crouching in front of the tombstone like an old rural farmer, the master looked back at the Lord and asked dryly, "What should I write?"

According to the empire’s traditional customs, a deceased person’s tombstone required a single sentence summarizing their life path.

Xiahou Yan pondered in silence.

Having advanced to an Eighth-Tier Grand Mage at a young age, and being the most powerful Necromancer in the history of the empire, the brilliantly talented Simon Adrian absolutely deserved any and all praise! But at the same time, he was also the chief culprit who had recklessly conducted Magic experiments, caused the leakage of Magic Power, killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, and created a massive infected zone!

Ultimately, Xiahou Yan slowly recited a poem by Shelley from his memory:

"My name is Simon Adrian, Lord of the Netherworld;

Look on my unparalleled deeds, ye dead, and bow down!"