Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Spendthrift Necromancer (31)

Apprentice (1)

The Dwarves gathered in the forge stared blankly at the Skeletons.

“Chief. You're seriously telling us to use these things as apprentices? I know we're short on hands, but still…….”

Obern.

The village's chief blacksmith.

When he spoke on everyone's behalf, Turon scratched his head.

“I know it sounds absurd. But that human personally requested it. He swore they were better workers than Orcs.”

The blacksmiths looked at the Skeletons.

Wind whistled through the wide gaps between their bones.

Skeletons were stupid summons.

Their stats were pathetic too.

And these were supposed to be better than Orcs?

The human who'd said that and the chief who'd taken him at his word and dragged these Skeletons here were equally insane.‘Damn it. The chief's lost his mind. Orcs would be better. At least they're stronger…….’Obern and the other blacksmiths looked thoroughly displeased.

“……

Do me this favor.”

“Sigh.”

Obern sighed and nodded.

He was still the chief, after all.

They had to save him some face.

“……

Very well. But…… Chief, you know, don't you? Half-baked help is worse than no help at all.”

“I know. Of course I know. Just work with them for one day. If you still don't like them after that, I'll personally tell that human. We need at least some justification if we're going to refuse, don't we?”

“……

Understood.”

The chief's face brightened instantly, and he practically fled the area.

Obern stared at the Skeletons left standing there for a moment.

Then gave instructions.

“Hey! Skeletons! Split into groups of twenty and attach yourselves to each blacksmith!”

Clatter!

The Skeletons divided themselves.

“Bring that steel and those molds! Watch the floor while you're carrying them!”

“Move that over there and put it up! Right around this height!”

Clatter!

A strange gleam entered Obern's eyes as the Skeletons followed the instructions precisely.

“Ahem. At least they understand orders well enough.”

Still, twenty of them combined would barely equal the strength of one or two Orcs.

Obern and the blacksmiths continued issuing orders.

“Take that out, cool it in cold water, then stomp it down. With your weight…… about ten of you should move together. Once per second. Step here, here, and here.”

Clatter!

“Melt this steel here and pour it into the mold. Thirty seconds. Take it out when this stopwatch turns like this.”

Clatter!

“Right! Like that! Huh, you're smarter than I thought. Then try this too. Pour this much liquid into the mold here, let it cool for twenty seconds, then…….”

Like climbing a staircase one step at a time, the blacksmiths gradually assigned more difficult work.

Their eyes began to gleam.

“Master Obern. I don't think these are ordinary Skeletons.”

“……

Looks like the chief wasn't completely talking nonsense.”

Deafening hammer blows.

Hot, stuffy air.

And the blacksmiths' constant irritable shouting.

Even a sturdy grown man usually collapsed after only two or three hours when first assigned apprentice work.

But the Skeletons were different.

Like truly tireless workers, they performed every instruction without a single complaint.

And rather perfectly at that.

The Skeletons' performance had far exceeded imagination.‘At this level, we could subdivide the work even further.’What if the Skeletons handled not only the basic manufacturing process but some more advanced steps too?

Production efficiency could skyrocket.

“……

Should we actually teach them properly?”

If the continent were still peaceful like before, the idea would've been unthinkable.

No matter how talented someone was, Dwarves never casually taught their techniques.

There was even a joke saying you had to work as a Dwarf's apprentice for ten years before they'd teach you their crafting skills.

But things were different now.

The world was halfway destroyed.

What was the point of hoarding techniques like precious treasure?

It wasn't as though they could use them to enjoy wealth and glory anymore.

This had become an age where efficiency mattered above all else.

Without it, they couldn't survive.

“You. Try holding this hammer.”

The Skeletons had been here for six hours.

That was why, after only that much time, one was already being allowed to hold a hammer.

“Listen carefully. When they bring the mold from over there, strike here, here, and here…… then this joint right here…….”* * *[Skeleton 1 is being taught Dwarven Crafting Techniques by ‘Obern’…….][Skeleton 343 is being taught Dwarven Crafting Techniques by ‘Malcolm’…….][Skeleton 1,102 is being taught Dwarven Crafting Techniques by ‘Pudal’…….]

Three days had passed since he sent the Skeletons away.

They had already moved beyond simple manufacturing and were sucking up the essence of Dwarven technique.

Thanks to that, weapon and armor production had exploded.

With enough apprentices, the projected production was two hundred sets a day.

But now they were casually producing three hundred sets every day.

Because the Skeletons were gradually becoming more than mere apprentices and taking on a larger share of the crafting process.

Their stored steel was being depleted so rapidly that newly arrived Orc recruits had already started heading out to mine more.

In the distance, Turon approached with several Orcs pulling carts.―Gruk! Brought weapons today too!

“Three hundred and twenty sets today!”

Turon's eyes gleamed with excitement.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“Of course! How long has it been since I've seen our blacksmiths work with this much enthusiasm! We Dwarves are a race of craftsmen, after all! The whole village has come alive thanks to this!”

True.

Now that their numbers had fallen so far from the past, how often could the Dwarves possibly have found themselves this busy?

The constant influx of Orcs had energized the Dwarves too.

“My boys are doing well, right?”

“Do you even need to ask? Can't you tell from production rising every day? Even that picky bastard Obern is teaching them his secret techniques. Seems he really likes your summons.”

Nothing but rave reviews.

“But are you all right? You've basically sent every single summon you have to us…….”

The maximum number of summons a Necromancer could maintain depended on their maximum mana.

Once they'd summoned as many as their mana capacity allowed.‘Even drinking potions won't let you summon more.’That was true for every summoning class.

At present, every Skeleton except Cedric had become a direct apprentice of the Dwarves.

It still didn't matter.

“I can just command the Orcs.”

Kim Minwoo was a very unusual Necromancer who could level even without relying on summons.

If he didn't have them, he could simply go around swinging his own sword.

His leveling had remained smooth without the Skeletons.

Because the Orcs were reliable shields.

He'd gained ten levels in only three days.‘The gap between me and the Skeletons has widened a little…….’He could raise their levels whenever he wanted.

But Dwarven techniques were different.‘If I miss this opportunity, who knows when I'll ever learn them again.’This Gate had provided the perfect stage.

A fantasy setting.

And the Gate itself was huge.

Meeting the Dwarves had been a stroke of luck.

And because this world was collapsing, they were freely teaching techniques they normally would've hidden even after years of apprenticeship.‘Once they learn them…….’Kim Minwoo grinned while imagining the future.

If he put the Skeletons through enough repetitive labor, he might someday be able to supply himself with equipment even better than ordinary auction-house goods.

For someone who would continue using huge numbers of summons, crafting skills were like rain in a drought.

“I see. You're working hard too. Thanks to you, I've eaten my fill for the first time in ages.”

“There are quite a lot of monsters. We still have plenty to hunt for now…….”

“They won't remain plentiful forever. In the end, we're fighting against time.”

“Yes. We'll have to attack the fortress.”

Turon nodded and looked toward the Orc horde.

“The sheer number of Orcs is astonishing. To think this many survived in such a brutal climate…….”

Turon was right.

The rate at which wanderers arrived was increasing.

Because Minwoo had sent Orcs in every direction to spread the word.

Join the Resistance Army and you'll eat your fill.

You can even take revenge on the Apostle and Witch.

The slogan had been an overwhelming success.

The Orc population had already passed two thousand.

And the number was rising faster and faster.

Then.[Warning!][Enemy Alert Level changes!][0 -> 5 (They have realized something is wrong.)]‘They noticed.’The people they'd sent weren't coming back.

Naturally, something would seem suspicious.

Then…….[The First Reconnaissance Unit has been formed!][The Apostle's subordinate, Necromancer ‘Ellum,’ begins moving!][50 Wraith Knights follow Ellum!][100 Corpse Hunters follow Ellum!]

Messages appeared announcing that the enemy had begun moving.‘Fortunately, they're only sending a reconnaissance unit for now.’If the main army came, that would be different.

But if they only sent a fragment, he had a very real chance.

Minwoo looked at the two thousand Orcs.

It was time to prepare for battle.* * *Necromancer Ellum.

He was currently in an extremely foul mood.

He had sent troops under his command to carry out the purge.

Yet there had been no news whatsoever.

He could understand the Corpse Collectors sent to the Orc tribe failing to return.

He had only sent five.

If they were unlucky, they might have become entangled in some accident.

It wasn't a painful enough loss to matter.

But the troops sent to attack the Dwarves were different.

Even the scale was different.

That was a force that shouldn't have suffered an accident.‘And there's been no report…….’There was a high probability they'd been annihilated.―……

Should we inform the fortress?

Ellum shook his head at the Wraith Knight's question and answered calmly.

“No. I'll handle it personally. There's no need to trouble the Apostle over something like this. Gather every force in this sector.”―……

Understood.

The Wraith Knight withdrew.‘Damn it. I need to deal with this quickly.’Everyone else was cleaning their assigned sectors without issue.

If a problem happened only in his territory?

The Apostle would label him incompetent in an instant.

Lost troops could somehow be replaced.

But once trust collapsed, restoring it was extraordinarily difficult.

He had blocked word from traveling upward, but that wouldn't last forever.

He had to stamp out the spark before it grew.

And so Ellum and his forces moved.

Their destination was the Black Rock Tribe.

Because the last report they'd received before communications stopped had said the troops were heading there.

The closer they drew to the region containing the Black Rock Tribe, the stranger the scene became.―……

Lord Ellum. Something is strange. These are clearly Orc footprints…… but they keep converging toward our destination.

There were far too many tracks in the snow.

On top of that, Orc feces and other bodily traces could easily be found all over the surrounding terrain.‘Don't tell me the Orcs have risen up?’The Orcs attacked the Dwarves.

And if troops were then sucked into the territory those Orcs had occupied…….‘Then annihilation makes sense.’When Orcs rose up, their forces numbered at least a thousand.

Meanwhile, the troops Ellum had sent numbered only ten Wraith Knights and around twenty Corpse Collectors.

It wouldn't be strange for them to be swallowed whole.

“Damn it…….”

Ellum's face darkened.

The Witch hated Orcs with a passion.

If such an uprising had really occurred, Ellum could no longer hide it at his level.

Reporting became the highest priority.

“You, you. Return to the fortress right now and…….”

Then.

Whoosh!

Snow exploded from the ground as Orcs burst out from every direction.―Gruk! Kill them!―Orc! Orc!

A completely unexpected ambush!

The Wraith Knights barely managed to respond.

The weaker Corpse Collectors were different.

Slash!

One savage axe blow split a torso in half.

And the bad news didn't end there.

Orcs began appearing from every direction.―Damn, an ambush!―These filthy insects……!

“Don't panic! Form ranks!”

Ellum urgently gave orders while gathering the mana inside his body.

A spell took shape above his hand.

Corpse Explosion.

If he managed to cast it, the Orcs currently surging out could be slaughtered in droves.

At that exact moment.

Fwish!

With a chilling sound, an arrow buried itself in his chest.

“Guh!”―Damn it, protect Lord Ellum!

A rain of arrows followed.

They targeted the heads of Corpse Collectors and Wraith Knights!

Arrows struck their targets with artistic precision despite Orcs brawling chaotically all around them.

Only one race possessed skill like this.‘Elves?!’Ellum's eyes widened.

Orcs wearing Dwarf-made equipment.

And now Elf snipers, a race that performed at its best in chaotic combat.

The situation was the absolute worst.* * *Winning through a frontal clash would've caused heavy casualties.

That was why Minwoo had chosen an ambush.

He'd hidden some of the Orcs along the route the enemy was likely to take.

Every one of them had sturdy builds and powerful stamina.

The result was a complete success.

“Don't let a single one escape!”―Gruuuk!

When he ordered the Orcs to charge.

A strange sight caught his eye.

Arrows began flying in from somewhere, assassinating the enemy force.

Kim Minwoo thought of the same word as Ellum.‘Elves?’Had they been wandering around and happened to witness the fight?

The Witch's forces were enemies of the entire continent.

It wouldn't be strange for Elves to provide support.‘No downside for me.’He was in a situation where even a cat's paw would've been welcome.

Elf sniper support was far better than that.‘They said he was a Necromancer.’Minwoo looked at the human staggering with an arrow buried in his chest.‘If he's the commander, he's definitely named.’A named monster.

Not a boss, but a monster with a unique name.

These kinds of enemies often dropped decent items.

The sweet experience they gave was a bonus.‘I'm taking the last hit.’He began moving toward Ellum through the chaos.