Assassin necromancer

Outside the Blanket Is Dangerous (3)

After becoming a jobless shut-in, one of my new hobbies was watching Awakeners’ live streams.

Since they had bodies and skills different from normal humans, their strange and exciting broadcasts were fun to watch.

“Pfft. He failed that?”

As I laughed at a failed attempt on one of the streams, a new stream title caught my eye.

[Necromancer Newbie Training a Million Skeleton Army – Day 3]

“……”

In this world, there were many different types of Hunters, but Necromancers were quite rare.

Because of that, I couldn’t help but feel curious.

Click.

As soon as I entered the stream, a cheerful-sounding woman appeared on the screen.

“Can you all see this? I stayed up all night making this Skeleton Archer! Doesn’t it look super strong?”

She looked to be in her early twenties and had a very lively first impression.

Since the stream had only twenty-seven viewers, she quickly noticed me and greeted me.

“Oh! Hello, HellLord12! Since you’re here, do you want to see a cool trick?”

Before I could even answer, she handed the Skeleton a rubber bow, placed an apple on her head, and ran a few steps away.

The distance was about five meters.

The Skeleton, following her command, fired the bow with full force.

Piiiing!

Thud!

“Ouch!”

The arrow hit her forehead instead of the apple.

It was a terrible aim.

“Ugh, seriously. Hey, you did fine yesterday! Are you missing mana or something?”

The chat exploded with laughter at this ridiculous scene.

— LOL, are you serious?

— How will she fight if she can’t even hit that?

— She said the Skeleton is low on mana, LOL.

— Waaah, I’m a baby Skeleton Archer. Mana, please!

Some comments were playful, but others were harsh and critical.

— Wow, she’s really bad. I came to see a new Necromancer, but she’s terrible.

— If you’re this bad, you shouldn’t be a Hunter. Summoners need to control their summons properly.

“Hehe, I’m still practicing! I’ll improve soon!”

She skillfully ignored the mean comments, showing she had a strong mentality.

Watching her, I couldn’t help but feel amused.

‘She really is a cute newbie.’

She worked hard, gathering materials to make Skeletons, balancing their abilities, and improving her control.

She was the perfect example of a beginner.

‘And…’

Most people just made fun of her, but I could tell—she actually had talent for Necromancy.

‘Her Skeletons look surprisingly solid for a newbie who just stitched them together.’

I had joined the stream out of boredom, but now I was genuinely interested.

I clicked the follow button and sent a message through the private chat.

— That’s not how you do it.

If I saw a newbie, I had to give advice.

—

‘Who is this person?’

Song Ha-Yeon was a fresh Hunter who had awakened just two months ago.

At the same time, she was also a newbie streamer.

Her title was Graveyard Corpse Lover.

She was a rare Necromancer in Korea.

Because of that, she decided to use her uniqueness to gain popularity through streaming.

She never aimed to become a high-rank Hunter—her goal was to earn enough money for a comfortable life.

This was her third day streaming, and she had been slowly gaining viewers.

But then, a strange viewer appeared.

— That’s not how you do it.

Someone suddenly gave her advice about making Skeletons.

At first, she thought it was just a troll and ignored it.

After all, so-called “experts” on the internet always give useless advice.

But then, she read the rest of the messages.

‘Bury the materials in damp, sunless soil? Cover them with animal blood?’

She was also told to expose them to death energy for three days.

‘I do have a skill to gather death energy, so I can try it, but…’

It sounded like a lot of trouble. If this was a joke, she would waste her time.

But the advice was so detailed that it didn’t seem random.

She decided to test it.

She even asked for tips about parts she had struggled with before, and the responses came instantly.

‘Is this person really a Necromancer too?’

And not just any Necromancer.
With this level of knowledge, they weren’t ordinary one.

Curious, she followed the advice exactly as given.

Then, she was shocked.

“Huh?”

Crackle…

The new Skeleton she made was completely different from before.

“This… actually worked?”

At first, she just thought it was lucky that a skilled Hunter had given her some good tips.

But then—

— Do you have any mana stones? I’ll teach you a magic circle. Engrave it on the stones and store death energy at a graveyard. You can use it later to make better summons.

— Stupid summons won’t improve just by training them. This all follows a system, so just do what I say.

The tips kept coming, and they were more and more advanced.

That’s when Ha-Yeon realized—this was not normal.

‘Wait… who is this person?’

In Korea, the strongest Necromancer was only B-rank, and he never used methods like this.

So this person, HellLord12, wasn’t just any Hunter.

‘Is this some kind of trap? Am I going to be kidnapped or something?’

Feeling uneasy, she cautiously asked why they were helping her.

The answer was simple.

— I’m just bored. You don’t have to listen if you don’t want to.

She didn’t fully understand, but for some reason, it didn’t feel like a lie.

Maybe… This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

— No, teacher! Please guide me! I’ll follow you forever! Is there anything you want in return?

There was a long pause.

Just as she was about to send another message, a reply came.

— Then, just do me one favor.

—

“…How ironic.”

I never took in disciples before, but now, after losing my power, I had unexpectedly gained one.

Ha-Yeon had given me something I requested—three mana stones filled with death energy.

‘Technically, this is illegal…’

But they were just low-quality mana stones. As long as no one found out, it was fine.

‘Still, I can’t feel it.’

As a Necromancer, death energy was my most important power. But for some reason, I couldn’t sense it at all.

‘But… maybe if I use the energy someone else gathered…’

That was why I was out here in the cold, wearing a hoodie, on a small mountain behind my neighborhood.

‘I think this should work in theory.’

I had thought of this method long ago.

But in Korea, there were so few Necromancers that I never had a way to test it.

Now, with Ha-Yeon’s help, I had a chance.

‘Oh, perfect timing.’

I found a dead sparrow nearby.

I crouched down, took out a mana stone, and started my experiment.

Whoooosh…

Since I couldn’t feel death energy, I wasn’t sure if it was working.
But I had done this process countless times before—I wouldn’t make mistakes.

Rustle…

As I finished, the sparrow’s flesh and feathers crumbled into dust.

Success.

“Rise.”

The skeletal bird moved.

“Right wing.”

Creak.

“Left wing.”

Crack.

Perfect. It followed my commands exactly.

For the first time since coming to this world, I had won.

A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

“Hehe.”

Feeling good, I let out a laugh.

Yes.

No matter what happened, I was the Lord of Death. The ruler of the underworld.

No law of this world could stop me.

I was a real Necromancer!

I controlled the dead!

The skeletal sparrow flapped its wings as if celebrating with me.

Creak! Creak!

“Yeah. You’re right. This is a day to celebrate.”

I ran home and ordered fried chicken.

—

‘…He’s enjoying that a lot.’

Baek Seo-Ha, tired after work, ate chicken with her older brother and watched him closely.

“Hehe. Here, take the drumstick.”

“Oh, thanks.”

He must have had a great day because he looked truly happy.

Did he know how adorable he looked right now?

Watching him smile, Seo-Ha thought—

Maybe, just maybe, this life wasn’t so bad after all.