Chapter 34: Archimedes
Blackstone Village – Five Weeks Earlier
Back to the night when old man Shum finally drank himself to death.
The villagers stood gathered around the body in silence, watching Theo doing his thing beside the corpse.
Old man Shum’s death itself wasn’t exactly shocking. Sudden, yes. Unexpected, no.
Shum was old. He drank like he was trying to finish every milk moonshine supply the village had. Most people had already assumed the old man’s innards surrendered months ago and simply forgot to inform the rest of his body.
Still, they keep staying to see what happen next, because now everyone was about to witness necromancy. Theo’s necromancy. The same terrifying power that had somehow turned Dunley—the village halfling embarrassment—into a disciplined military commander.
Naturally, expectations were high. The villagers watched with restless anticipation, their imaginations running wild.
Would there be a massive magic circle? Green hellfire? Dark smoke rising from the corpse? Ancient forbidden chants spoken in some cursed language from another world?
Maybe the sky would split open. Maybe the wind would howl. Maybe lightning would strike the ground dramatically. This was dark magic after all.
“Let’s see…” Theo muttered while squatting beside the corpse and scratching his cheek. “Status window…”
The villagers blinked as so far, the grand necromancy ritual mostly consisted of Theo squatting ungracefully beside a dead alcoholic while staring at absolutely nothing.
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[ GENERAL INFORMATION ]
Name : Theo Poliznev
Title : Village Vice-chief
Class : Necromancer
Level : 2
EXP : 692 / 2000
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[ CORE STATS ]
HP : 110 / 110
MP : 85 / 85
Stamina : 60 / 60
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“And then… technology…” Theo muttered while busily pressing buttons on the menu only he could see.
Behind him, David, Tara, Erika, and Delilah continued watching the process.
“Huh,” David muttered, folding his arms. “So this’s what it looked like when I got summoned? Thought it'd look a whole lot more magical than this.”
“Nope. This was basically it,” Erika replied with a shrug. “Though back then he looked way more confused.”
She watched Theo continue scratching his head while mumbling at invisible menus.
“That is rather surprising,” Delilah said softly, placing a finger against her cheek. “To think the vice-chief is both a necromancer and a summoned hero.”
“Yeah,” Tara snorted. “Honestly, he doesn’t really look the part in daily life.”
Then, Theo’s palm began glowing green.
“Oh? Here it comes,” Erika muttered, recognizing the same glow from David’s summoning before.
Theo placed his glowing hand against old man Shum’s corpse.
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[ CONDITION MET ]
Post-Mortem Vessel Ready
Brain Status : Functional
Time Since Death : 00:04:31
Body Integrity: 94% (Good)
ASSESSMENT : Use Before Further Decay
EXECUTE: [ Y / N ]
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“Well, there’s not really much to think about here,” Theo grinned. “Goodbye old man Shum. Welcome, Archimedes.”
He pressed the Y button.
Immediately, Shum’s body began emitting a green glow. Just like David before, the light started faint before gradually stabilizing into a steady shine. Around them, the villagers held their breath while staring at the corpse.
Finally. Actual necromancy.
And then—
“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH MY CIRCLE!!”
Old man Shum suddenly sprang upright in fury.
Several villagers nearly jumped backward in shock.
Before anyone could even react, the old man was already looking around the ground frantically, his eyes darting everywhere as though searching for something desperately important.
Theo stared, the villagers stared, even David looked mildly caught off guard.
Tara leaned and whispered to Erika next to her “What exactly is this Archimedes soul supposed to be good at again?”
“Theo said he’s apparently some famous genius from his world,” Erika whispered back.
Tara continued watching the old man search the dirt with increasing frustration.
“Hm. Looks more like a senile drunk to me.”
“Scheisse…” Archimedes groaned after finally giving up the search. “I suppose that Roman truly killed me after all. Now I must repeat ze entire equation again…”
“Uh… Archi… medes?” Theo asked carefully.
Archimedes immediately turned toward him.
“You, boy,” Archimedes said while pointing directly at him, “are you ze one who dragged me back from ze underworld before I even reached ze ferryman?”
“Uh… yes?” Theo answered hesitantly. “My name is Theo.”
“Hm. Interesting indeed.” Archimedes pressed a curled finger against his lips while studying Theo carefully.
“Nice to meet you, sir Archimedes?” Theo said while standing up from his squat.
Theo found himself instinctively becoming more careful around him. Not to old man Shum, but Archimedes himself.
Everything about him felt completely different from the slightly hunched old drunk who used to smile around the village while showing off his incomplete teeth.
But this man was different.
The way he stood, the way he folded his arms, the way he stared at people while waiting for them to catch up with his thoughts, everything about him radiated confidence and authority that had absolutely no patience for nonsense.
It was a very specific kind of pressure, one Theo had been conditioned to fear since childhood. The unmistakable aura of a school headmaster.
“So tell me, boy,” Archimedes said while keeping his arms folded, “vhat exactly do you require me for?”
And somehow, the German accent only made it worse. Theo suddenly felt like his answer would determine whether he passed the semester.
“Do you have merchants attempting to deceive you?” Archimedes continued. “Or perhaps problems vith enemy fleets?”
“Uh… no,” Theo answered awkwardly. “There are no merchants or fleets where we currently live.”
But before the conversation could continue, the villagers’ whispers behind them started becoming louder.
“Is that all?”
“There’s no giant magic circle?”
“This necromancy thing’s kinda boring, no?”
Murmurs of disappointment spread through the crowd. Theo noticed it, so did everyone behind him.
David then stepped forward with an easy smile.
“Archimedes, was it?” he said casually. “Name’s David. Another one of the boss’s summons.”
He tipped an imaginary hat politely.
“Maybe we oughta continue this discussion inside the tent,” David continued. “Before these folks start askin’ for a refund or something.”
Theo glanced around and realized the villagers were indeed getting increasingly restless.
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Theo’s Tent
A while later, the introductions continued inside Theo’s tent, away from the growing noise outside. The atmosphere was quieter there. More private.
Theo, David, and Archimedes sat around the small hearth inside the tent, seated on leather rugs spread across the ground. Three former Earthlings gathered around the hearth.
Over the past several minutes, Theo and David had explained most of the situation to Archimedes.
“So this world is truly not Earth at all…” Archimedes muttered thoughtfully while pressing a curled finger against his lips. “No vunder some of ze villagers possessed unnaturally long and pointed ears.”
“That’s right, old man,” David replied casually. “Mind if I call ya Archie instead? Rolls off the tongue easier.”
“Ja, call me vhatever you vish,” Archie replied dismissively. “It matters little to me personally.”
He then looked directly at David’s small halfling body.
“So your current host species is called a halfling? Or hobbit?”
David scratched his cheek. “Officially? Halfling. But honestly, hobbit sounds a hell of a lot friendlier.”
Archie nodded thoughtfully while continuing his questions about the new world they now lived in.
Meanwhile, Theo sat there with a tilted head, quietly watching the interaction between his two summons. More specifically, he was wondering why Archimedes was being translated to sound German. Was it because he was an engineer?
Now sitting in front of him was apparently a German engineer and a Texan shepherd discussing fantasy races inside a tent in another world.
Clap.
Archie suddenly clapped his hands once.
“Ja, I believe I understand ze important matters now,” Archie muttered thoughtfully. “Aside from magic existing, ze rest of ze world still appears to follow ze same fundamental laws as Earth.”
Then he turned toward Theo.
“Now then, boy,” Archie continued, his tone sharpening slightly, “You still have not answered my original question.”
He leaned slightly closer toward Theo.
“Vhat exactly do you require of me in zis world of Civara?”
Theo snapped out of his thoughts about historical accent settings and met Archie’s gaze directly.
“…I need to build a kingdom,” Theo answered firmly. “Starting from this village.”
David immediately showed a satisfied grin after hearing that answer.
Meanwhile, Archie leaned back instead, his posture suddenly becoming noticeably more relaxed. Then the ancient mathematician also grinned.
“Is that all?”