The Necromancer Who Was Despised

Thanks to Angolf’s consideration, we were able to take a seat in a corner, and since Angolf himself and the tavern staff were busy, they weren’t in a position to overhear our conversation.

Of course, I had also been vigilant throughout, so I was certain.

‘No matter how sharp the knight’s senses are, this is an exception.’

The only thing I was cautious about, even from a distance, was dark magic. They wouldn’t be able to overhear this unless they were nearby.

“Wow, they’re all passed out. Anyway, if it’s free… Ugh. What do we do with these guys?”

Angolf, who hadn’t been aware of the situation at this table because he had been busy, approached and spoke.

“Can you get us a room? You can wake us up in the morning. “I’ll pay.”

This place was an inn and a tavern, so there were empty rooms upstairs, so finding a solution wasn’t difficult.

“Oh, well, I’m grateful for that.”

“I’ll upload it later. Then, please do me this favor.

“Thank you!”

Since there were five of them, we had to rent two rooms, which cost us a silver coin, including the food, drinks, and room fees.

It was a little too much to spend on just one meal, drinks, and room fees, but considering the information I got this time, I wouldn’t have minded even if I had spent a gold coin.

That’s how valuable the information was.

I dragged my exhausted body home and organized my thoughts.

Even though my body had gotten stronger, I had to drink with five men while hiding my magic, so it was natural that I was tired.

It hadn’t been long since I returned from the request.

In fact, I needed some rest.

‘I shouldn’t have drunk in that situation.’

But I had an excuse to maintain my connections, and as a result, I got information that I couldn’t have gotten otherwise, so it turned out to be a good thing.

‘It was definitely the right choice to build my connections.’

I sketched out a plan based on the information I got from Dissan.

‘The exit… isn’t far from Kaeksung Fortress.’

Of course, there’s a limit to how long a secret passage can be.

To be honest, it would be long enough to cross an entire village.

I can’t even imagine how much work it must have taken to build this.

If you touch it the wrong way, the middle of the road could collapse, or in the worst case, the entire passage could collapse.

‘Two entrances… He said the middle part was weakened.’

The location of the passage… It wasn’t that far from my house.

‘A backdoor, is that possible?’

It wouldn’t be easy to build, but if it’s not too far, it might be possible.

And I’m not going to keep it for a long time… .

Even if I dig it, it would only be meaningful if I had a certain level of strength.

I don’t think the current Artina is lacking compared to the Artina of the first round.

If she keeps growing like this, she’ll be able to destroy Kuman all by herself like she did in the previous round.

‘The lord… is it Kailin?’

In the end, it’s up to me.

I’ll support her, but in order to make sure of it, I need to recover Kailin.

‘I need to know the knight’s abilities.’

I need to know as much as I can about my opponent, my enemy.

There’s a reason why the saying goes, “Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”

I need to know my own abilities and as much as I can about my opponent.

‘I need to make good use of what I’ve learned this time.’

Even if I exclude the Shadow of the Soul, the Staff, and the possibility of Kailin’s recovery… .

‘The Blue Root of Trenesi… I might not be able to get this again… .’

I shouldn’t be stingy.

I can’t use it anyway.

I won’t use all three roots to recover Kailin… .

‘I’ll have to feed one of them… to Artina.’

If my calculations are correct, Kyla will need two roots.

I’ll have one root left. I had planned to use it for Athena.

I could just feed it to her, but if I refine it into an elixir, it’ll be more effective.

Fortunately, I know the recipe.

Trenesi’s blue root is a relatively common herb.

It got its name because it was first discovered in the Trenesi region, but it’s not a herb that only grows there.

It can be found all over the continent.

Of course, it’s common for a herb. Herbs themselves are very rare.

Still, it’s relatively popular, so the recipe is fairly well-known.

It’s just that something that old is incredibly expensive.

What I mean by saying that I might not be able to get it again is that it’s that old.

By the way, the recipe I have is very efficient.

“I should have Athena focus on her mana control training.”

That’s one way to increase the absorption rate of the elixir.

The absorption rate varies depending on how well you can handle mana.

“Well, physical performance is also important.”

How familiar your body is with mana is also important.

Even if your mana control is lacking, your absorption rate will be high if your body is good.

In that respect, Athena’s body is very promising.

“She definitely has talent.”

I quickly plan to strengthen my teammates.

Of course, the most important thing is for me to get stronger.

“First of all… I need to increase my permanent undead. Since I still have storage space left, I can just make them for now.”

The only things I can make right now are skeletons and zombies.

Specters require a bit more preparation.

“Zombies aren’t bad either. Honestly speaking, if the quality of the materials is good, they’re better than skeletons for immediate use.”

If you put your mind to it, you can draw out a lot of the material’s abilities from when it was alive.

A necromancer of my current level would have a hard time even creating a single permanent zombie, let alone properly draw out its abilities from when it was alive.

And that’s only possible because I have the staff I got this time.

“But I’m on my 2nd playthrough.”

That’s why I can do it.

However, in terms of growth potential, skeletons are better.

That’s because you can develop them in more ways.

It’s not impossible for zombies either, but zombies tend to develop extremely.

“Either draw out their abilities from when they were alive as much as possible, or modify them with determination to specialize in one thing.”

Unlike skeletons, which continue to develop slowly as you gain experience, their growth potential is low and their performance is heavily influenced by the creator’s skill and the quality of the materials.

However, the former is useless if their abilities from when they were alive are weak, and the latter requires a lot of materials.

“Tch, I don’t have any materials I can use right now… Should I go hunt some monsters?”

The monsters around here are low-level. If I go deeper…

“It’ll be dangerous. Especially since there are signs of a monster wave…”

For now, I think it’s better to go with something more reliable than an adventure.

‘The skeleton can inherit some of my experience, so I should do it with the skeleton.’

I should also make a specter there.

Since I had just received good materials, there was no reason not to make it.

However, I need to get the materials separately….

‘It’s hard to get them publicly.’

Since they were materials that were too obviously used in black magic, I couldn’t get them publicly.

‘Ugh, if I try to make them one by one, it’ll be another pain in the neck.’

Still, since the quality of the soul’s shadow is good, the specter will be completed even if the materials are slightly insufficient.

Once it’s completed, the specter’s growth is easier compared to other undead.

‘An army of ghosts… No, that’s too far in the future.’

For now, it was time to think about the near future rather than the distant future.

‘It’s going to get really busy starting tomorrow.’

Still, it’s much better than the past when I had no dreams or hope.

Hope is important to humans. The hope that the future can be better than the present. As long as there is hope that the present, no matter how shitty it is, can get better, humans can live.

This doesn’t only apply to Athina or Kyla.

Hope was also very important to me.

‘It’s okay, I can do it. ‘One step at a time.’

Let’s not get impatient.

Recalling the mindset I had carved over and over again, I slowly fell asleep.

As soon as the day changed, I went to the inn and tavern to find the mercenaries.

Disan was already gone thanks to Angolf waking up early to listen to my request.

“Did he leave any messages?”

“He said that he was grateful for you preparing a separate room for him.”

Judging from the fact that there were no other messages, it seemed that he didn’t remember talking about the secret passage, or even if he did, he didn’t think it was important.

Whether it was the former or the latter, it was inevitable that Disan would become a thorn in my side.

‘Objectively speaking, he is a bit of a nuisance.’

After thanking Angolf for relaying the message, I woke up the mercenaries and bought them hangover cures and breakfast.

They all looked touched as if they hadn’t expected me to be this considerate, and I smiled and reassured them that it was nothing.

“Did we perhaps misbehave?”

“I won’t say anything about what happened at the drinking party. Don’t worry about it and go back and help Kuman.”

In fact, except for Disan, I didn’t really pay attention to them, so I don’t remember much of what they did or played.

They were just drunk and having fun with themselves and didn’t bother the other tables except for ours, so that was fine.

“Oh my, really? I thought Mr. Jimnis wasn’t that kind of person!”

I responded with a moderate laugh to Danian’s flattery.

After finishing the meal, I sent them back and left the development area to head to the house where the party was waiting.

As soon as I returned, I saw the party already training.

“I told you to take a day off.”

“Didn’t we rest when we came back yesterday? Besides, the training intensity is lower than usual and we’re taking longer breaks.”

It was funny to say anything when they said they would adjust and work hard, so I just let them be.

‘Well, better than being lazy.’

I decided to think positively and looked at Athena and Tia.

“I’ve roughly informed them about your existence.”

“Then we can confidently enter the Pioneer Territory now?”

“Yes.”

“But how did you explain it? Don’t you think Tia will be suspicious?”

I explained the fabricated story of Athena’s recruitment.

“…That way…well, there’s certainly no room for suspicion.”

“I don’t think she’ll have a reason to doubt me. On top of that, we actually finished scouting early.”

“That’s true. We were late because we went to the cave.”

“I’ve ordered furniture, so we’ll move there as soon as it’s ready.”

That’s when Kyla spoke.

“But it would be better to train here. There’s a yard there too, but there are so many people around…”

Since the house was located near the center of the Pioneer Territory, it couldn’t be helped.

“Oh, I don’t plan on abandoning this place.”

In the first place, the basement there wasn’t properly set up yet.

‘There’s no time, but there’s a lot to do…’

I was an idiot for thinking that it would be nice if the monster wave happened a little sooner.

‘It would be fine if the monster wave was delayed by about half a year than expected.’

I thought to myself how greedy I was.

But it’s normal for people to be selfish, so I let it be.

“Then I’ll go down to the basement and see. I have a lot to do.”

“Understood. Please don’t overdo it, Master.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll adjust accordingly. Oh, right. Kyla, focus on giving Athena intensive mana control training.”

“Mana control…by any chance.”

Kyla was quick-witted. She knew that I had obtained the blue root of Trenesy since she had explored the cave with me.

Furthermore, as a former knight, she would know basic information about elixirs.

“Are you not being greedy…I understand. I will follow your instructions.”

“I am greedy. That’s why I’m doing this. And come to the basement around dinner time.”

“To the basement, you say?”