Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Spendthrift Necromancer (33)

Apprentice (3)‘……

I was complacent.’Elise let out a sigh.

Kim Minwoo had been right.

Everyone valued their own life dearly.

She had offered a miserable price for lives that precious, so she could hardly complain about being rebuked.

And what he had demanded in exchange for his help had been reasonable as well.

The Mother Tree's Divine Fruit?

It was indeed a treasure to the Elves.

But everything was relative.

Letting things continue until the Mother Tree fell, or giving up the fruit to protect the Mother Tree. There was no need to ask which mattered more.

The same applied to potions.

Once they were under protection, their consumption would fall sharply from what it was now.

They would simply be supplying the surplus to the Resistance Army.

Elise looked at Kim Minwoo.

He was busily fitting something together in front of a Skeleton.

“……

What are you doing?”

“Strengthening my summon.”

“Strengthening it?”

“Yes. See this bone here?”

“Isn't that…… a Cockatrice leg bone?”

“Correct. If I put it against this guy's leg and replace it like this…….”[Using Bone Replacement(B)

!][Replacing ‘Cedric's’ leg bone with a Cockatrice leg bone!][The material is far above your level.][Success Rate: 12%][Would you like to attempt it?]

Nod.[Great Success!][The bone transforms to suit Cedric's body type and race!][Cedric's Strength, Agility, and Stamina increase by 10 each!][*Great Success Special Effect: Movement Speed +10%][Remaining Capacity (20/75)]

Cedric's leg bone became visibly thicker and sturdier.

“That's roughly how it works.”

“Interesting. Does it always succeed when you try?”

“Of course not. I think I've burned through nearly two hundred leg bones just on this.”

“……

The success rate is that low?”

“No. It's not quite that bad, but an ordinary success gives pretty boring effects. There's a separate Great Success effect.”

He'd learned that when testing it a few times on ordinary Skeletons at first.

Success and Great Success.

There was a definite difference between them.

An ordinary success consumed a lot of capacity.

And there was no special effect.

A Great Success, on the other hand?

It consumed less capacity.‘A normal success took 25.’A Great Success took 2

0.

Five whole points less capacity.

And the effects were much better.

“Cedric, how is it?”―Master, I believe you've obtained an excellent skill.

Cedric moved his legs around, then gave him a thumbs-up.

The effects were definitely noticeable.

Every stat except Magic had risen by 10.

And Great Success had added another special effect: Movement Speed +10%.‘This skill is fucking insane.’The effects were ridiculous.

Especially when using the bones of high-level monsters.

Cockatrices were monsters well above Level 200.

Naturally, their bones were incomparably tougher than the basic body of a Skeleton.

And Minwoo had used the legs, the monster's most characteristic body part.

If he could land Great Success, it was an absolute jackpot.‘Of course, there is a downside…….’The higher the monster's level, the more brutally the success rate dropped.

Judging by feel, the chance of Great Success was barely around 1%.

Replacing Cedric's leg bones had consumed every bone from the Cockatrice flock they'd hunted earlier.

If he wanted to use this properly…….‘It's going to cost a fucking fortune.’Monsters left behind corpses and byproducts when they died.

Those byproducts came in many forms, including important monster parts, items, mana stones, and Skill Books.

Usually, Awakened returned after taking only the worthwhile byproducts.

The corpses were heavy, and there was a limit to how much cargo they could carry.

If they went a little further, they might dismantle and bring back whichever parts were worth money.

That was how it went for most monsters except a few with especially valuable materials.

The problem was that bones usually weren't high-value products.

Except for those of certain monsters, nobody went out of their way to drag bones back.

Even sweeping the auction house probably wouldn't yield many.

Conclusion.

He had to give Awakened a reason to bring bones back.‘I'll need to put a bounty on bones, won't I?’It would probably burn through trillions of won…….‘Still have to do it.’He didn't know about everything else.

But one thing was certain.

At the very least, Cedric needed to have his entire body showered in Great Successes using the best bones possible.‘As for the rest…….’Whether even tens of trillions would be enough to do the same for more than a thousand Skeletons was questionable.

He'd think about that later.

Kim Minwoo's gaze shifted sideways.

Elise was still staring at him.

“Did you need something?”

“……

Well. I wanted to apologize for how rude I was before. I really was thoughtless.”

“I've already forgotten about it.”

Minwoo shook his head as he spoke.

There was no reason to be harsh toward a person—no, an Elf—who was apologizing.

Elise sighed in relief and said.

“……

Do you see those Elves over there?”

“Yes.”

“I managed to calm their complaints, but honestly, it's only temporary. Once we return to the village, the elders will probably be the first to rise up against it.”

“Does that mean you can't keep your promise?”

“No!”

She hurriedly shook her head.

“I'm a Forest Keeper of the Mother Tree. I have enough authority to keep a promise. I just don't want you to take the reactions of the other Elves too personally.”

“You seem a little different from the other Elves, Lady Elise. More realistic, perhaps.”

“……

I'm not really any different. I was just as complacent before…….”

“If you've reflected on it, that's enough. The fact that you can do even that already makes you an admirable Elf.”

There was a reason people called Elves knife-ears. Their personalities could be that damned insufferable.

Elise's ears reddened faintly under the repeated praise. That seemed like enough carrot for now.

“Lady Elise.”

“Yes.”

“I can tolerate most things, but there are three things I don't think I can overlook.”

“What three things?”

“First. Disparaging the sacrifices made by the Orcs. Second. Failing to sincerely teach the promising students. Third. Breaking our agreement. If I see even one of those three happen…….”

“……

Then?”

“I'm rather good with a sword. Sometimes swinging it is simply the fastest route.”

“…….”

Elf elders or whatever.

Didn't the phrase alone evoke the image of a bunch of stubborn old fossils?

His goal was to clear the Gate.

He didn't have time to let bastards like that hold him back.

He smiled gently at her.

“I trust you understand.”

“……

I'll be careful.”

“We leave for the Elf village tomorrow. You should get some rest.”* * *“Today, we're going to save the Elves!”―Gruk! Save pointy-ears!―Gruk! Drink potion and get stronger!

He had already explained to the Orcs why they needed to join forces with the Elves.

Drink potions and grow stronger.

Then split the Witch's skull.

Things like that.

Thanks to that, there had been no objections.

“Let's go!”

More than two thousand Orcs moved out.

He'd already heard about the troops currently attacking the Elf village. With this much force, they should be able to smash them.‘Stopping the news from getting out will be difficult, though.’The enemy force was fairly large.

Unlike with Ellum, it seemed unlikely they'd be able to stop every single one that fled.‘Can't be helped.’He couldn't keep moving in stealth mode forever.

If even the force sent to subjugate the Elves was annihilated, the Apostle would have to notice something unless he was an idiot.

And so the imposing Orc army set out.

After six hours of marching, they reached their destination.

A region covered by an enormous forest.

The Mother Tree's domain.

Elise and the other Elves had moved ahead and entered the forest first.

They needed to deliver yesterday's plan to the Elves and coordinate their movements.

And one more thing.

She was probably also there to spread the warning he'd personally given her yesterday.‘Whether they'll actually listen is another question.’If that alone could reform the Elves, they would've never earned their reputation for being insufferable knife-ears in the first place.

Of course, not every Elf was hopeless.

But it was also true that a disproportionate number of hopeless people seemed to be Elves.

In the distance, an army was recklessly chopping down the trees of the forest.‘They're shaving away the perimeter.’The Mother Tree's domain was extremely difficult to attack.

The trees themselves moved to obstruct intruders, while plants swallowed enemies whole.

And then there were the Elves firing arrows from concealment within the forest.

Any enemy commander with a brain wouldn't simply march inside.

Normally, they either set the forest on fire or destroyed the trees from the outer edges as they advanced.

The commander had chosen the latter.‘It's not easy to burn this place.’The Mother Tree normally responded by releasing moisture to suppress the flames.

Fire wouldn't catch until all of that had evaporated.‘And they probably need the corpses too…….’Burned corpses were useless waste that couldn't be recycled.

That was probably why they were peeling the forest away from the outside.

They had already settled the plan beforehand.

The Orcs would strike from behind, while the Elves attacked from the front.―Orc! Orc!

At the thunderous pounding against the ground, the Apostle's forces turned around.

Commotion immediately erupted.

An Orc horde had appeared out of nowhere.

Of course they'd be startled.

What more needed to be said?

“Kill them all! Charge!”

The Orc horde surged forward.* * *The battle ended anticlimactically.

Caught in the pincer attack, the enemy commander fled without putting up any real resistance, and the troops scattered in every direction.

Of the nearly five hundred enemies, they killed four hundred.

Around four hundred Orcs died in exchange, but considering the average level difference, it was a miraculous trade.‘Leveled like crazy thanks to that.’From 75 to 85.

Minwoo steadily took the last hits and raked in the experience.

Considering how explosively the required experience rose at higher levels, his leveling speed was nearly instantaneous.‘Well, I am killing high-level enemies…….’The Apostle's forces started at Level 250.

So the explosive growth wasn't particularly strange.

Before long, Elves appeared between the trees.

There were around four hundred in total.

Elise stood at the front, with elderly Elves following behind her.

Probably the elders.

“Thank you for your assistance.”

Elise bowed deeply.

That was enough pleasant conversation.

Life was give and take, after all.

“Of course we should help when we can. Then I suppose it's about time for us to receive our payment…….”

“Yes. I've already informed them.”

At Elise's reply, a group of alchemists stepped forward.

The Elves stared at the Skeletons with their pointed ears twitching.

“……

We're supposed to teach those Skeletons, correct?”

“Yes. There are five hundred, so about twenty per person should work. Even the Dwarves were extremely satisfied with these promising students. You'll find them rewarding to teach.”

The other five hundred were still hammering away in the Dwarf forge.

They hadn't acquired a crafting skill yet.

One by one, the alchemists nodded with awkward expressions.‘Well, this reaction is practically gracious.’What insolence! How dare wicked undead learn alchemy?

At least they weren't reacting like that.

Elise must have worked hard after going ahead to explain everything.

As the Skeletons learned alchemy, potion production would rapidly increase, so that fulfilled the first promise.

“Then I suppose it's time I received the Mother Tree's Divine Fruit…….”

Then.

One of the elders who had been wearing a sour expression stepped forward.

“Human. Wait a moment.”

“Is there something you'd like to say?”

“I have tolerated much! The very idea of teaching alchemy to wicked undead is outrageous, but even that I endured. The fruit is different! It is an extraordinary treasure to us Elves. Even among our own people, only the chosen may consume one!”

“Yes. That's why I'm taking it as payment. Why would I have demanded it if it wasn't valuable?”

“Do you not think your demand is excessive?”

This wasn't a question of intelligence.

It was simply conviction.

That was the only way he could stand so confidently even with an army of Orcs behind Minwoo.

He looked at Elise.

She sighed.

Apparently she hadn't managed to convince every stubborn elder.

“If you oppose it, do you actually have a way to stop me?”

“The fruit may only be removed with the unanimous approval of all elders.”

“I see. I respect your convictions.”

Stubbornness on this level deserved applause.

Minwoo nodded.

Shhk!

The Elf elder's head fell.

At least he'd said everything he wanted before he went.

You could call that a good death.

Minwoo flicked the blood from his blade and looked at the remaining elders.

“Anyone else opposed?”

“…….”

“If not, I'll be taking it.”

With the dissenting vote gone, that made the decision unanimous.

Time to claim the fruit.