Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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I saved a friend. Finally, one.

Still, since I had seen his face the most, I shot him a subtle glare and was relieved that it ended up being the right answer.

‘Now, there are two left…’

The friendship thing is truly delicate and complicated.

Even if we exchanged contact information, if I didn’t actively work on building rapport, I could easily find myself back to being strangers.

At least, I needed to accumulate a degree of favor that would allow me to introduce Seo Ha naturally after completing the training course.

Therefore, I diligently messaged a guy named Kim Seung Min every day.

Fortunately, since I wasn’t actually facing him in person, it wasn’t that exhausting.

Ding!

[What did you have for dinner?]

[Photo]

[Something like this.]

[The nutritional balance is a bit concerning… ]

Look at this perfect corporate talk.

It’s excellent from a business perspective and also tops in being somewhat helpful.

A delightful banquet of polite yet intimate honorifics. I found myself involuntarily impressed.

‘This is good enough.’

Now it was time to target the other side.

Before I knew it, there was only one week left in the training course.

And what I was aiming for was precisely that.

‘I dislike training camps, but…’

On the flip side, it could be an opportunity to get closer to others.

You might wonder how one could do anything if they couldn’t even hold a proper conversation, but I had my ways.

Shimmer.

Before parting at the hotel, Helena urgently bestowed me with a ring as a gift.

It was a luxury item imbued with a special mental stabilization spell.

There was a restriction of once per day for 10 minutes, but I had already confirmed its miraculous efficacy.

10 minutes a day, totaling 70 minutes over the week.

From now on, I would use that to make two friends.

‘…’

There was a time I thought that way.

‘It’s all over…’

I had severely underestimated the training camp.

To be honest, living in a group under the current circumstances was unmanageable. Ten minutes was truly insufficient.

Two days had already slipped by.

Considering that the remaining four days comprised visiting the Seoul Memorial Park and a low-rank dungeon tour, today was practically the last chance for leisurely conversations.

‘What should I do?’

I fell into confusion.

If things continued like this, would all the effort poured into this training become futile?

I really didn’t want that.

While I was contemplating, one possibility caught my eye.

Today’s dinner menu was grilled mackerel. Though tasty, it’s a classic example of a meal that’s a hassle to eat.

I gauged the reactions of those on my team and subtly approached a woman who was earnestly focusing on her chopsticks.

She was undoubtedly a young woman named Han So Eun, who had just turned twenty this year.

“Ugh.”

She seemed to be struggling quite a bit.

Though I had already used today’s mental stabilization magic, I steadied myself and casually initiated a conversation.

“Uh, I can debone it for you…”

That was truly a decisive move.

#

To put it simply, the operation was a success.

Using a technique derived from necromancy, I quickly turned the mackerel into boneless fillets, and the two others who were experiencing the same hassle were impressed and asked me for help.

Consequently, I found myself in a miraculous situation where I had faces I could consider acquaintances with—four in total.

The feeling of admiration I hadn’t felt in a while was quite delightful, but that was a secret.

‘Perfect.’

There was nothing holding me back now. As long as I wrapped up the favor building during the remaining time, I would achieve my goal.

Thus, I found myself at the Seoul Memorial Park three days prior to completing the training course.

It was an event meant to commemorate the hunters who had fought monsters and passed away since the first generation, solidifying the understanding of the job’s dangers.

Indeed, the atmosphere, which had relaxed to some extent during the training, was now solemn.

From here on out, the figures before us could very well be our futures.

“You’ve probably encountered a lot of news or articles about this.”

The instructor, a current C Rank Hunter, continued with a bitter smile.

“But today, again, in some dungeon, other hunters are losing their lives. That isn’t just statistics—it’s reality.”

It’s something that can happen at any time, and it’s beyond one’s mindset to avoid.

Death.

The trainees gulped as they felt the weight of it suspend in the air.

Was it that the negativity swallowed their minds? Some of the trainees began to exude a shallow morale.

I cautiously drew upon the death energy from the mana stone in my possession.

Hooong.

‘Many small things make a mountain.’

That too was a resource, and wasting it would be foolish.

While this was happening, I sensed an odd presence from somewhere.

Swoosh.

It felt more like a presence than just a sensation, akin to some kind of thought.

Intrigued, I used the ensuing free time to pursue that will.

Soon, I found myself at a single gravestone.

【Hunter, Chae Hwa In (囆化刃)】

What struck me was an intense will emanating from the being I hadn’t sensed just moments ago.

“Ugh.”

I flinched.

Flinch.

An overwhelming presence sent shivers down my spine.

It was exceedingly rare for a soul to maintain this level of form even after death. Just a brief glimpse was enough to tell me this grave’s owner was something extraordinary.

The appearance of the soul I found was rather peculiar.

It wasn’t exactly humanoid but more like a sphere observing the world.

There was no will nor consciousness there.

It seemed to be the optimal form for maintaining its existence.

It appeared as though it was instinctively engaged in a hibernation-like state.

‘Interesting.’

I had never seen a form like this before.

Just viewing this simple aspect let me deeply understand how much the soul’s owner didn’t want to vanish from this world.

That relentless and pure survival instinct.

“……”

I approached the soul as if entranced. At that moment, rational judgments and behavioral patterns were unnecessary.

To not have curiosity in seeing such a soul would certify my incompetence as a necromancer.

‘This can’t be handled recklessly.’

At least, not right now.

In my current state, it was beyond my capabilities.

I pulled out the ring that I had been wearing.

An artifact made from the highest quality materials for mental stabilization.

With something like this, I could potentially use it as a storage facility to temporarily contain that powerful soul.

Hooong.

Carefully to ensure the soul would remain unharmed, I managed to successfully embed the soul into the ring.

This was a remarkable achievement.

It had truly been a while since I felt overflowing curiosity as a necromancer.

While relishing in that satisfaction, I was soon captured by one of the instructors and reprimanded.

“I-I’m sorry…”

I had gotten so wrapped up in my work that I had missed the meeting time.

#

A few days ago, when I first heard about it, Baek Eun Ha wasn’t even considering acknowledging the hunter activities of Baek Seo Ha.

What changed that thought was a single statement from Baek Eun Ha, expressing her desire to live like a human.

‘……’

To be honest, Baek Seo Ha had been worried all along.

Was it really okay to keep living this way?

There wasn’t a major issue right now, but if she continued her dependent lifestyle like this, it was clear that Baek Eun Ha would eventually find herself unable to live her own life.

‘There’s no guarantee this life will last forever.’

It was an unpleasant scenario, but what if Baek Seo Ha were to die during a dungeon raid?

There would be no one to take care of Baek Eun Ha, who would be left alone. Rather, she could be exploited by the dark schemes of those who coveted the title of Returner.

That wasn’t good.

Clearly, her older brother understood this instinctively and had resolved to change himself for that reason.

“Yes. How was today?”

[There weren’t any major problems, but it seems she still struggles to blend in with others.]

I comforted my aching heart as I sent Baek Eun Ha off, but the worry simply couldn’t be avoided. Thus, I observed Baek Eun Ha’s situation in real-time through my connections.

“Yes, please keep a close eye on her today too…”

While consistently working behind the scenes and listening in on the situation, I was a bit surprised to find she seemed to be progressing through the training course more smoothly than expected.

Though she may have received a failing grade in communication and cohesion, her overall training results were quite decent.

‘Her brother was right to be so determined…’

Once she completed the final training by observing the instructors’ dungeon tactics and learning the important notes inside the actual dungeon, Baek Eun Ha could truly become a hunter through her Awakening registration.

With her brother struggling so hard, she couldn’t just stay idle either.

If she genuinely wanted to function as a hunter, she needed to take her own measures.

After contemplating what to do next, Baek Seo Ha posted a message on the dedicated request board.

【Recruiting a Hunter for Observation and Management of a Protected Individual, 1 position.】

‘…B rank should be sufficient, right?’

In the perilous hunting industry, at least someone was needed to protect Baek Eun Ha in case disputes or exceptional situations arose.

It was a safety insurance common for rookie members of large guilds or second-generation chaebols.

Drrring!

[What are the specific abilities of the protected individual?]

“She can balance chicken bones.”

[Oh… I’m sorry, but that seems out of my range to manage. I apologize.]

Of course, I figured the process wouldn’t be smooth sailing, but still.