The Extra's Rise-Chapter 120: Money (3)

Kali leaned back on the plush couch in my room, her dark braid draped over one shoulder as she regarded me with that particular expression she reserved for people about to do something colossally stupid.

"What sort of information could you sell for that much?" she asked, her curiosity as sharp as the edge of a blade. Her onyx eyes, glinting like coal, bored into me.

I shrugged, leaning casually against the desk. "It was a chance for the Raven Network to jump to the next tier of influence," I said simply. "The kind of information that can reshape power dynamics."

Her brow furrowed as she sat up straighter. "And they just handed over billions? That doesn’t happen unless they think it’s a golden goose... or a poisoned one."

"Sometimes the two aren’t mutually exclusive," I replied with a small smirk. "Anyway, I need more help from you."

She let out a sigh that carried the weight of a thousand reluctant favors. "Even more? What now?"

"I need a brokerage account manager," I said, my voice steady. "Someone discreet. Someone who can cover my tracks."

"Cover your tracks?" Her eyebrows shot up as she stared at me. "Arthur, you’re planning something big. And if you need someone to ’cover your tracks,’ it’s also something dangerous."

"Perhaps," I said, my tone calm but deliberate. I’d learned that calm unnerved Kali more than anything else. Predictably, her dark eyes narrowed, assessing me like I was a particularly volatile investment.

Then, her gaze dropped lower, as if drawn to something she hadn’t noticed before. Her eyes widened, and a low, incredulous murmur escaped her lips. "You… formed a Black Star."

I smiled faintly, touching a finger to my lips. "Secret," I said lightly. "But yes, and it’s to your benefit too, you know."

She leaned back again, crossing her arms. "Fine. Alright. You’re full of surprises today. I’ll get you someone I trust for investing. Slatemark Empire?"

"Slatemark," I confirmed. "I need someone reliable. I’ll be moving a lot of money, and it has to look… unremarkable."

"Unremarkable," she muttered, tapping her fingers against the couch’s armrest. "You’re planning to invest billions. That’s the opposite of unremarkable. But fine, I’ll make it happen." She waved a hand dismissively, though her gaze never left mine. "But you owe me details. What’s this grand plan of yours?"

"I’m just making a Lich," I said, my tone as casual as if I were discussing baking bread.

Kali blinked. Then she tilted her head, studying me like I’d spoken in a foreign language. "Ah, sorry, I must’ve misheard. You meant a skeletal mage, right? Good project. Ambitious, but achievable. Although you definitely don’t need this much money for that."

"I said Lich, Kali," I repeated, smiling faintly.

She froze, the words clearly lodging themselves in her brain like an arrow shot out of nowhere. Slowly, almost mechanically, she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, staring at me as though I’d just declared myself Emperor of the Galaxy.

"You crazy… fucker," she whispered, and for once, I was the one caught off guard. "A Lich? You’re actually making a Lich?"

Her voice rose, panic and exasperation battling for dominance. "Hey! Fucker! You might be talented, but there are limits!" She stood up now, pacing the room, her words spilling out like a faucet someone forgot to turn off. "A Lich? A LICH??? Are you dying? Are you insane? Do you have a death wish? Do you—"

"I already have the Source," I interjected, "and the Skull. I’ll have the Skeleton soon."

She stopped pacing, turning to face me with a mix of disbelief and resignation. "What the hell has the world come to? A fifteen-year-old boy making a Lich."

"I am using a cheat method," I said, shrugging lightly. "It’s not as impossible as it sounds."

"Even then! It’s insane!" She gestured wildly as if trying to physically push away the sheer audacity of my words. "Do you even hear yourself? A Lich, Arthur! A creature so powerful it could single-handedly take on armies. And you’re casually talking about making one like you’re assembling IKEA furniture."

"You’re exaggerating," I said, barely holding back a chuckle.

She pointed a finger at me, her expression deadly serious. "If this doesn’t kill you, I’ll kill you myself. For being so reckless."

"Kali," I said, stepping closer to her, "I’m not reckless. I’m prepared."

She stared at me for a long moment, her exasperation finally giving way to something softer—perhaps reluctant respect, or perhaps she’d just accepted that I was a lost cause. "You’re insane," she said again, shaking her head. But this time, her voice was quieter, almost fond.

"Maybe," I admitted. "But you like that about me, don’t you?"

"Shut up," she muttered, flopping back onto the couch. "Fine. I’ll get you your brokerage manager. And if this works… I’ll pretend you’re a genius instead of a lunatic."

"That’s all I ask," I replied with a grin.

"Anyway, tell me more," Kali said, leaning forward with the curious intensity of someone on the verge of unearthing forbidden knowledge. Her eyes gleamed with the kind of excitement you might expect from a child presented with an unopened treasure chest—or, in this case, a necromancer with a fascination for the absurd.

Although Kali leaned more toward combat with dark mana rather than summoning, her roots in the Western continent—the epicenter of necromancy—meant she had a natural appreciation for this kind of thing. And, well, it wasn’t every day someone casually announced they were making a Lich.

"Sure," I said, indulging her curiosity. Unlike Rachel, who I trusted wholeheartedly, my trust in Kali was more... conditional. The mana oath bound her to me, ensuring she’d play along. For now, at least.

I rubbed a finger against my spatial ring, letting my mana flow into it. Two objects materialized on the desk between us, emanating an aura so potent the air seemed to thrum with it. The first was a glimmering skull, its surface etched with runes so ancient they practically whispered arcane secrets. The second was a pulsating heart, its surface veined with dark green energy that seemed almost alive.

Kali froze. Her braid slipped over her shoulder as she leaned forward, staring at the two materials like she’d just been presented with the crown jewels—and perhaps something far more dangerous.

"Holy..." Her voice trailed off as she shivered, visibly shaken. "That’s your Source and Skull? You absolute fucker, that’s overkill for a Lich!"

"Well, I’m aiming for an Arch Lich," I admitted, scratching the back of my head like it was no big deal.

Her gaze snapped to me, wide-eyed, her lips parting as if to deliver a monologue on the virtues of sanity before she stopped herself. Instead, she pressed her fingers to her temples. "Being around you is like watching my common sense die a slow, painful death. I mean, sure, cheat method or not, this is insane!"

"Thanks," I said with a grin. "Anyway, this"—I gestured to the skull—"is the Skull of an Arch Lich, which I’ll use for the Mind aspect. And this"—my hand shifted to the heart—"is a Basilisk Heart, for the Soul aspect."

Her mouth fell open, then closed again, as if words had failed her entirely. Finally, she muttered, "Wait... Arch Lich? You don’t mean... you don’t mean the one from 2035, do you?"

I nodded.

Her hands dropped to her sides, and she stared at me as though I’d just told her I’d stolen a dragon’s egg for breakfast. "You’re telling me that’s the skull of the Arch Lich from the 2035 incident? The one that nearly became a Lich King? The one that wiped out an entire city and was on the verge of turning the Northern continent into a graveyard?"

"The very same," I confirmed.

"And the heart," she continued, her voice growing shriller, "is from a Basilisk? A mythical creature, one of the highest tier dark mana beings in existence?"

I smiled and shrugged. "I have my methods."

Kali threw her hands in the air and began pacing, her boots clicking sharply against the floor. "How—no, why—do you keep finding ways to break the universe, Arthur? This is the kind of stuff necromancers dream about. Do you realize people have gone entire lifetimes without even seeing materials like these, and you just... have them?"

I leaned back in my chair, enjoying her dramatics. "What kind of skeleton do you think I should use?" I asked, steering the conversation back on track.

She stopped mid-step and turned to me, arms folded. "Knowing you? Something ridiculous. A Dragon Skeleton, maybe? Or, oh, I don’t know, the corpse of the First Calamity, the Heavenly Demon? That would be on-brand for you."

I chuckled. "I wish. It’s an eight-star Blood Wyvern skeleton."

Her eyes widened again, though less dramatically this time. "A Blood Wyvern... That’s still absurdly high-end, but I guess it’s a step down from outright lunacy." She tilted her head, considering. "Wait, a Blood Wyvern—was it one of the ones that crossed over from the Western continent?"

"Exactly," I said. "It was hunted by a Gold-grade guild here in the Central continent."

Kali whistled, low and impressed. "A Blood Wyvern’s skeleton is still going to be perfect for what you’re making. Dark mana affinity, strong structural integrity—it checks all the boxes. But it’ll need adjustments, obviously. You can’t just slap these pieces together like Lego blocks and call it a day."

I nodded, already knowing what she meant. Adjusting a skeleton to fit the rest of the Lich components wasn’t a matter of simple alignment; it was an intricate process requiring both magical and physical alteration. Every bone would need to be carefully reworked, re-etched with runes, and reinforced to harmonize with the Source and the Skull. And that kind of precision work didn’t come cheap.

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Kali shook her head, her dark braid swaying as she sat back down. "You know, adjusting a skeleton like that is going to drive the costs way up, right? You’re basically asking for custom craftsmanship from the best necromancers and alchemists in the world."

"I figured as much," I said, unfazed. "It’s not like I expected to assemble it myself."

"Good. Because if you even thought about trying that, I’d have to stop you out of sheer self-preservation." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "But seriously, Arthur. A Lich of this caliber... You’re going to be unstoppable if you pull this off."

"That’s the plan," I replied, my voice steady but laced with determination. "It’s not just about power, though. This is a foundation. For everything that comes next."

Kali studied me for a long moment, then sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. But if this backfires and you accidentally raise an army of the undead that tries to eat the world, I’m holding you personally responsible."

"Deal," I said with a smirk. "I’ll even put it in writing if that helps."

"Shut up," she muttered, though her lips twitched into a reluctant smile. "You’re impossible, you know that?"

"Impossible just means I’m doing it right," I shot back.

Kali rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. And that, more than anything, was proof that she believed in me—even if she thought I was insane.