"Don't you guys have the blacksmith profession?" Tom Nguyen argued. "Plus, Earthlings don't have professions yet, so how is that an argument?"
"Blacksmiths only process the minerals into their completed state. Without the enchantment, the item they created has almost no value," Ahmed countered. As far as he knows, only a few blacksmiths can create magical items without enchantments, but there aren't many of them. "And the fact that you don't have a profession doesn't change much. Next month, you will, and by then, your ability to generate income will outclass all of us."
"But that doesn't apply to all mages. Not everybody can learn a profession. Plus, you guys still have plenty of ways to make money compared to mages."
"No, we don't," Ahmed continued. "And do you think every knight makes as much as we do? Believe it or not, we are an outlier. Most knights can only hunt in teams of at least five, and even then, their success is not high. On top of that, if they want to increase their survival rate, they must also hire a private hunter from the guild, which requires handing over 30% of their income."
"I still think it's unfair," Tom Nguyen said before turning to the others. "Come on, back me up."
"I'm a bit conflicted on the matter," Evans said. He could see both sides of the argument.
"Well, I agree with Ahmed."
"Really?" Tom Nguyen looked at him incredulously, almost as if he had been betrayed.
"It's not about fairness, but equity," Zane explained. "It's apparent that the tower doesn't want to facilitate or encourage animosity or discrimination between mages and knights. It goes against the public image the tower wants to project, even if that's common in the magical world. And, as Ahmed said, mages have more means of acquiring wealth and resources, so it's understandable that the tower gave them a week's advantage to ensure the gap isn't too wide. If I guess correctly, next month, there will probably be other programs to make up for the income gap."
"All you've said is your analysis on why the tower is doing this, not why you agree with their judgment," Tom Nguyen said. "I want to know why you don't find it unfair."
"I don't see anything wrong with giving one group assistance even if it's not fair for another," Zane explained. "And from a broader standpoint, this is a wise decision. Earth already suffers from racism, sexism, and class division. If more division were to occur among transcendents, then we really will have no chance at fixing our internal issues before the demon race arrives."
"That, right there," Ahmed pointed at Zane. "As much criticism as I have of the tower, I admire how they dealt with this issue. A good system — whether political or not — doesn't have to be absolutely fair; everybody does not need to be treated equally. The key is to be equitable."
"Equitable?" Tom Nguyen stated. "That sounds good and all, until…"
For close to an hour, the group had an intense conversation about the topic. They only stopped when Zane revealed it was time for his second meditation. Oddly, though, James and Sanjay stayed in front of the TV the entire time. However, just as the group was about to disperse, Devonte suddenly said:
"Dont forget about that thin'."
"Oh, right." Ahmed slapped his knee. "Tom, we brought your skeleton."
"You did?" Tom thought not bringing anything was their subtle way of rejecting his request. "Where is it?"
"It's in the Nether Locker."
"The what?"
"When we were carrying it to the dorm, a tower staff member approached and reminded us that skeletons aren't allowed into the dorm. He also showed us a place to store it. Apparently, it's called the Nether Locker; I can show you to it."
"Please," Tom Nguyen nodded.
"I'm intrigued. Can I come too?" Zane asked. Ahmed looked at Tom, and the latter nodded. The group swiftly changed before walking out of the room. On his way out, Evans received a pat and a nod from James, seemingly reminding him of something. However, since he was the last one to leave, no one except Sanjay saw what happened.
The so-called Nether Locker was in a location no one had been to. It was this weird, black, rectangular building behind the Research Lab Tower. As soon as the group entered, the mages sensed a cold, chilling sensation that made them uncomfortable—well, at least Zane and Evans did. For Tom, the cold was calming, reassuring, and highly appreciated.
"Such concentrated negative energy," Evans uttered.
"What an eerie place," Zane thought. The negative energy wasn't the only unpleasant thing in this place. All around them were black "lockers," some standing upright and others lying on the ground, which didn't help, since they looked like coffins. Zane noticed all the lockers were separated into different sections labeled from A-Z, and each locker also had a number, so he asked, "Is there a key?"
"Oh, right," Ahmed said before retrieving a black circular key from his pocket. "It's in locker 198B."
Tom Nguyen could no longer maintain his excitement as he rushed to the B Area to open the locker on the floor, revealing a massive pile of bones with a tiger-like cranium. Tom Nguyen touched the bones. "Most of the bones are intact; negative energy is still in an active state, and more importantly, there is still a decent amount of soul energy remnant left. Excellent."
Tom Nguyen did not waste another second as he cast [Animate Skeleton]. An unknown power entered the tiger skeleton and began to reassemble the bones into their original state. The creature no longer had any muscles and ligaments to connect the joints, but the power of the spell acted as the perfect replacement. Lastly, a blue soul flame appeared in the tiger's eyes, acting as the last ingredient for the spell.
Tom Nguyen raised his hand, and the skeletal beast jumped out of the locker to stand in front of him. He lowered his hand, and the beast sat down, just like an obedient dog. "Excellent," the necromancer remarked. There was no lag or delay with his command, which was an indication that the spell had reached the highest success rate.
"Are you satisfied?" Ahmed asked.
"I am. How much do I owe you?"
"17 magic crystals, but as a friend, you can give us 15."
"So expensive?"
"The flame tiger is one of the more dangerous beasts, and more importantly, we had to be extra careful not to damage the bones and kill it fast enough to maintain as much of the remnants of soul energy as possible after the soul was extracted," Ahmed explained.
"That makes sense," Tom Nguyen nodded. Although this was his first time dealing with undead bones, he knew how crucial the state of the dead creature's bones must be for the success of the spell, and for determining how much strength the undead has after the revival process.
"By the way, how did you guys learn how to deal with the bodies?" Zane asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about skinning, organ preserving, and even retrieving the soul."
"The hunting guild offers a free two-hour course. I recommend you guys do it before the 15th."
"That shit is useless," Devonte snorted coldly.
"Yeah, the instructor's way of teaching is not ideal."
Zane nodded. "What about the soul? How did you do it? Did you hire a mage?"
"No, we bought the soul stone ourselves and used a Soul Capture magic scroll."
"No wonder you guys say your expenses are high," Zane commented, thinking he should learn the Soul Capture Spell himself before hunting season, which should save him a lot of money.
"You have no idea," Ahmed sighed.
"Hey, Zane, do you want to test out how strong my new buddy is?" Tom Nguyen suddenly asked.
"Hmm, I don't see why not?" Zane replied, slightly intrigued.
"You know what, I realized I've never seen a proper mage battle. Can I watch?" Ahmed asked.
"Why not?" In the end, everybody headed to the training hall to test out the necromancer's new companion. The result was obvious: Tom Nguyen was outmatched. A necromancer can hide behind their undead, but they must be able to protect themselves; Zane ignored the tiger and only attacked Tom, forcing the latter to concede defeat.
After Tom complained and, in the spirit of fairness, Zane stopped using his staff and even allowed Tom to borrow it. Things were more even, with both sides winning and losing. And after a few battles, Evans was interested and joined the mix, and not long after, even the knights wanted in on the action.
The mages were immediately humbled. Zane could put on a decent fight after using his staff, but as soon as either Ahmed or Devonte used a weapon, he was outclassed. The knights had an extra six months of training, and those two were among the best, but regardless, the way the mages were defeated was a bit shameful; the knights easily blocked or evaded their attacks and, with immense speed, took everybody down. Zane put on a decent fight in hand-to-hand combat after using his mental and mana channeling, but that only meant he lasted half a minute longer.
The defeat came at an excellent time, as it awakened Zane from all the success he's been experiencing in the past few days. It was poignantly obvious that he still had plenty of room to grow. Since he saw the fight as a great learning opportunity, he suggested that everyone coordinate so they could gather and train together at least three times a week.