"I Became a Witch, but Now Everyone's in Love with Me!"

Chapter 87: The Witch of the Dead
 

"Good afternoon, Senior Mephisto."
Jiang Cha always acted quickly. After leaving Annie's shop, she arranged to meet the client directly.
The Camilla Entertainment Cup would be held in half a month. Even if Jiang Cha did not participate, she needed to give Mephisto an answer as soon as possible.

"Good afternoon, Jiang Cha. I’m sorry to trouble you again."
"It's not trouble at all. Since it’s a serious request, I’m curious—why did Senior Mephisto think of inviting me to participate in the competition?"
Jiang Cha felt her only advantage lay in her versatility. She had already received preliminary training in the five secondary positions and six major magical factions. In other words, she was a jack of all trades but a master of none.

Her super-high computational ability, granted by her inherent magic, allowed her to select the most suitable spell in complex battles. But when facing a witch specialized in a single faction, her strength seemed immature in comparison.
So she truly wondered: what made Mephisto choose her over other powerful teammates of the same grade?
"It seems you’re in a hurry... But actually, I am too. So today, let’s set aside the formal greetings and get straight to business."
Even though he said he wished to abandon useless courtesies, Mephistopheles remained so elegant that it never felt perfunctory. This must be what defined a noble witch—perfectly cultivated manners.

"I practice both the Transformation School and the Spiritual School," Mephisto explained. "Although my skills still fall far short of my predecessors, when these two schools are combined, there is actually no disadvantage."
That was true.
The Transformation School was well-known for its offensive power. With powerful transformation forms and buffing magic, it was a comprehensive school of combat, capable of long-range attacks, melee, and balanced tactics.

The Spiritual School, meanwhile, was famed for its versatility.
Combined with Mephisto’s attainments in alchemy, her adaptability could rival Jiang Cha’s own. A very standard choice for a noble witch.
"But my other teammate..."

At this point, the young lady with her permed, dyed white hair sighed softly.
"She specializes in the School of Necromancy."
"Huh?"

Jiang Cha tilted her head, disbelief flickering across her face.
"That’s right. I have a friend who specializes in necromancy. She’s very strong—so strong that ordinary witches cannot hope to defeat her in battle. If I want to win, I can’t give up inviting her to join my team. But… you know, Jiang Cha, the shortcomings of this school are too great."
The School of Necromancy was one of the six great magical factions of witches, representing death itself.

Yet despite being one of the six, almost no witches specialized in it. Most only treated necromancy as supplementary practice alongside other schools.
The reason was exactly as Mephistopheles said—its drawbacks were too severe. In fact, the Council of Sages had considered removing it from the six major schools more than once.
Each time, however, the proposal was rejected by the great sages.

For necromancy truly was the magic of death, and in the pursuit of truth, its importance was equal to the other schools.
But what were its shortcomings?
First: if a witch specialized in necromancy, upon promotion to sage-level, she had to transform herself into an undead creature.

This led to the creation of another branch of witches—the undead witches.
Such transformation imposed fatal weaknesses. Witches were already resistant to special attacks, yet this brought almost no real enhancement. Worse still, the change warped their very magic.
They became taboo.
Even their path to the pursuit of truth was blocked.

As a result, there was only one great sage of necromancy in all history—and not a single sage specialized solely in it.
Most witches who enjoyed necromancy studied another school first, advanced to sage, and only afterward sought to tread the death path to great sage.
But to specialize from the beginning… was to walk directly toward the path of the Lord of Death. A path that abandoned omniscience and omnipotence entirely.

So most young witches never even considered it.
"This senior of yours is really… rebellious," Jiang Cha muttered. "But if the only drawback is her specialization, then you don’t need me, right? You could just find a mysticism senior—or someone strong in Creation or Shaping. That would balance it out."
"That’s true... if it were really that simple."

Mephisto sighed again.
To be honest, Jiang Cha had never seen her sigh so much before. Though the beautiful woman still looked pitifully graceful, her repeated sighs seemed at odds with her usual confident, elegant self.
"But she is not [N O V E L I G H T] merely a necromancer. She is… a Witch of the Dead."

"!!!?"
What!?
What had she just heard!?

No wonder some still specialized in necromancy—it turned out this one was an undead witch herself! No wonder Mephisto said her combat power rivaled that of a great witch.
The progress of an undead witch in necromancy far surpassed that of ordinary witches. Their evolution had been carefully designed by omniscient, omnipotent great sages in pursuit of death, alongside the First Sage.
Once the transformation succeeded, they were destined to reach the pinnacle of necromancy—the Great Sage of the Undead.

But there, the path ended.
Even the Second Sage—the only great sage able to rival the First, and the oldest of them all—had never found a way beyond.
And as for a naturally-born undead witch…

"Aren’t undead witches unable to produce offspring?" Jiang Cha blurted.
"Who knows?"
Mephisto shrugged. From her expression, it was clear she didn’t know—only that she couldn’t say more.

"The only undead witch who could possibly give birth to an heir… Damn it!"
Jiang Cha couldn’t help swearing. She didn’t dare think further.
"Yes. Just as you’ve guessed. But keep it to yourself. Don’t tell anyone. We witches already have many enemies across the multiverse. Her identity must never be exposed."

Mephisto raised a finger, warning her gravely.
"This is really… something. So, Senior, the reason you nominated me as the last piece of the puzzle is because of her? But with her status, she hardly needs such a small prize, right?"
"She just wanted to have fun. As for why she came to you… the reason is simple. The Undead Witch wasn’t created with reproduction in mind. As a result, even though she is sixteen years old now, her mind is still that of a child. She grows very slowly—she’s a complete immortal."

"She’s very strong, yes. But to win the championship, she also needs someone proficient in necromancy, someone with command experience, someone who can manage teammates in complex battles."
"I thought long and hard. The only one who fits that description is you, Jiang Cha."