Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Spendthrift Necromancer (86)

Merhen (1)

A familiar place.

He had already returned to his room.

“Snowy.”―Coo.

“Whew…….”

Kim Minwoo sighed in relief. When the Death Lord had caught him.

Despite Minwoo repeatedly telling Snowy to hide, the bird had charged in and ended up trapped in a cage.

The Death Lord had probably recognized something valuable and decided to keep it.

A special pitch-black birdcage.

One glance made it obvious there was no way Minwoo could open it, so he'd gritted his teeth and focused on clearing the Arrangement first. Fortunately, once the Arrangement ended, Snowy returned unharmed as well.

“Do you know how worried Daddy was? Why'd you jump in like that?”―Coooo.

Snowy rubbed its head against his cheek affectionately.

Minwoo flipped the bird around and examined its body.

“Still, no injuries or anything. From now on, you listen to Daddy, okay?”―Coo!

Watching Snowy nod made a fatherly smile rise naturally to his face.

Seriously, how could anyone not adore this thing? How was he supposed to resist buying attribute items for it?

After gently petting Snowy for a while.

He checked what he'd gained this time. The first thing he examined was the Necromantic Sword.[Necromantic Sword][Rank: Legendary+][A sword passed down through generations of Unorthodox Alliance Leaders. Having absorbed the blood of an overwhelmingly powerful foe, its growth potential has greatly increased.][Restriction: Kim Minwoo][Effect 1. When the sword hunts an enemy it finds worthy, it absorbs their blood. (0/10)][Effect 2. When you wound an enemy, the sword absorbs a portion of their Stamina and Mana.][Effect 3. ???]

“Huh?”

A lot of the wording had changed.

Not only had the rank grown to +.‘Its growth potential increased greatly?’What would've happened with the original Necromantic Sword?

Maybe after absorbing ten thousand enemies, it would've stopped growing entirely.

Now things were different.‘Maybe…….’If he hunted ten enemies the sword considered worthy, it might even reach Ancient rank.

He still didn't know exactly what qualified.‘Well…….’He'd find out over time.

The equip restriction had also changed from Alliance Leader or the one who killed the Alliance Leader to his own name.

And then.‘……Effect 2 is fucking sweet.’Wounding an enemy now absorbed Stamina and Mana.

Potions weren't an infinite resource.

Normally, people had to rely on natural recovery.‘So I basically gained a healing effect?’Even if the amount absorbed was small, that didn't matter. The mere existence of the function would be incredibly useful.

Especially for Minwoo, who ran around cutting off enemy heads with a sword. Next, he checked the titles.[New Title List][1. Fossil Student][Became a student of an ancient Academy.][Effect: Strength, Stamina +5][2. Master of the Banshee Queen.][Became the master of Banshee Queen Merhen.][Effect 1. Learning ability of all ghost-type undead greatly increases.][Effect 2. Ghost-type undead can reach their ultimate forms.][Effect 3. Casting speed of all magic-type summons increases by 20%.][Effect 4. ???][Effect 5. ???]

Fossil Student seemed like a bonus title for entering that special stage.

The real stuff started from the second.

Master of the Banshee Queen.

Its effects were every bit as impressive as Cedric's title. Cedric gave powerful bonuses to Skeletons, while Merhen gave powerful bonuses to ghost-type undead.

Specters, Banshees, Reapers, and so on.

Most ghost-type undead appeared in the mid-to-late game. Individual units were correspondingly powerful.‘And increased casting speed…….’A rock-solid effect. Better yet, it applied to every magic-type summon. His Skeleton Mages would benefit too.‘Nice.’The title would become increasingly powerful over time.[3. One Who Took Valkan's Eye.][Took the eye of Valkan, the strongest Balrog in the Demon Realm and a former Legion Commander of the Death Lord.][Effect 1. All stats +30][Effect 2. Inflicts powerful intimidation upon demon-type monsters.]‘Wow.’No wonder Valkan had been strong.

The title effects were ridiculous.

All stats +30.

He'd received in one shot an effect on par with what he'd earned after struggling through the Orc Gate.‘He really was that strong.’If the fight had continued, Minwoo would've lost eventually.

That was how enormous the level difference had been.‘The second effect is good too.’Powerfully intimidating demon-type monsters.‘There happens to be a Gate I'm thinking of…….’A reasonably difficult Gate where demons ran wild.‘Perfect place to use this.’He nodded in satisfaction and checked the next title.[4. One Who Ended the Grudge.][Merhen had despaired without end. You resolved her grudge.][Effect 1. Merhen's interest in you greatly deepens.][Effect 2. Her interest may occasionally create special events.]‘……?’He understood why her interest had deepened. He had scored quite a few points with her.

But…….‘What the hell is a special event?’He still had no clue.

“……

Guess I'll find out later.”

He checked the Part One list.〈Part One List 9/10〉〈Successor of the Death Lord〉〈One Who Ended Eternity〉〈Warrior Whose Name Mutakta Remembered〉〈Hero of Northern Kaisar Continent〉〈One Who Became Master of a Divine Beast〉〈Winner of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering〉〈Slayer of the Unorthodox Alliance Leader〉〈Monster Among Beginners〉〈Necromancer Who Took Valkan's Eye〉‘Only one left.’One more entry and he'd advance to Part Two while gaining a very special effect.

His heart pounded as though a bag of gifts were sitting in front of him.‘Then now…….’It was time to summon Merhen, the prize he'd struggled so hard to obtain.[Summon Merhen(SSS)][Type: Active][Mana Cost: 100][Summons Banshee Queen Merhen. Merhen's level follows her master's. More of her abilities are released as her level rises.]

A simple Skill description.

Almost identical to Cedric's.

They were both Legion Commanders, so there probably wouldn't be much difference.

Then now…….

“Come.”[Merhen is summoned!][50 Mana is consumed!]

Banshees were ghost-type undead.

And they usually looked horrifying.

Rotting flesh in places, ghostly maggots crawling over them—the works.

If he had to describe them, their appearance was at least slightly better than Specters.

He'd never seen a Banshee that didn't look like that, so he'd been bracing himself.

But the face that appeared was extremely familiar.‘……

Merhen?’The Academy.

She looked exactly as she had when she was alive there.

If her body hadn't been somewhat transparent, it would've been difficult to even recognize her as a Banshee.

A black parasol was open above her hand. Merhen stood beneath the round parasol and stared at him.

Then her lips moved.―I remember.

She spoke.―Kern. The person who saved me.

Apparently she said that because his face as Kern had looked exactly the same as it did now.

“Not Kern. Kim Minwoo. Anyway, I'm your master.”―……

Master?

“Yeah.”―No. We're friends. We promised.

She shook her head and spoke firmly.

Friends.

Did she need some attitude adjustment?

He checked her Status.[Merhen][Class: Archmage][Level: 180][Skills Possessed: Archmage(SS), Scream of Terror(S)][Archmage(SS): An ability Merhen developed after awakening her potential. She can wield not only Death Magic, but all four major elemental magics.][Scream of Terror(S): Unleashes a scream imbued with a Banshee's grudge. Enemies struck fall into Fear.][Loyalty: 100][Special Note: Most Skills and stats are sealed. She has already pledged her loyalty.][Strength: 180(+90)] [Agility: 180(+90)] [Stamina: 180(+90)] [Magic: 540(+270)]‘Huh?’He checked Loyalty first, and it was already 100. That was practically identical to having already sworn an oath of loyalty.Once Loyalty hit 100, it became fixed and never dropped.‘Guess she doesn't need training.’Friend or subordinate.

That formality didn't really matter. What mattered was whether she'd carry out his orders without hesitation.

Merhen could already do that. At 100 Loyalty, she'd jump into a pit of fire if ordered.

Apparently all the effort he'd put into the past stage was paying off here.

Well.

He had scored quite a few points back then.‘No need to discipline her.’Kim Minwoo smiled warmly.

“Right. We promised. We're friends. My mistake.”―Yes. Minwoo. My precious friend.

Merhen quietly approached and took his hand.

Kim Minwoo stared at her.‘Her personality feels a little different.’Merhen when she was human.

And Merhen as a Banshee.

Their personalities seemed fairly different.

Human Merhen had possessed a lively side, while Banshee Merhen seemed much quieter.‘Makes sense. She's been undead for a long time.’She must have lived at least several decades as an undead whose emotions and senses were faint.

It wasn't particularly strange that her personality had grown quieter.

He looked at Merhen and asked.

“But do you remember all of that? You weren't even directly involved.”―The memories suddenly flooded into my head.

“Really?”―Yes. I definitely hated the Death Lord…… but Minwoo is fine. So I want to stay with you.

As expected.

Resolving her grudge had been worth it.

She was saying Minwoo was fine despite using the same power as the Death Lord.‘And Archmage…….’Banshees normally used magic related to Death. They could dabble in various things at low levels, but as their magic grew stronger, their talent usually became concentrated around magic tied to their race.

Apparently Merhen had been the same.[She can now use many more types of magic beyond Death Magic!]‘The message said so too.’She had probably specialized primarily in Death Magic.

But that had changed.

All four major elements had been added.

Usually, the four major elements meant Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind.

Explaining how incredible that was would only wear out his mouth.‘If it's SS-rank…….’The range would be enormous and the damage absurd.

Then.

The door suddenly flew open.

Naye peeked her head through the opening.

“Oppaaa! You're back!”

Naye's face lit up and she rushed inside.

Then she hugged his leg tightly, puffed out her cheeks, and complained.

“Where did you go? Naye waited for you every day.”

“Sorry. I was busy.”

Before carrying out the Arrangement, he'd already told his family he would be visiting a Hidden Gate.

Everyone had simply accepted it.

Everyone except this child.‘Guess she waited a lot.’From Naye's perspective, once winter break ended she'd have to return to America, so perhaps she'd thought this was her only chance to spend time with him.

Then.

The child's gaze moved toward Merhen.

“……

Who's that unnie?”

“Ah, she's Oppa's friend.”

“Oppa's friend?”

“Yeah. Say hello, Merhen. This is my little sister Naye.”―……

Hello.

Merhen gave a tiny, incredibly awkward wave.

“Wow. Unnie, you're really pretty.”―……

Thank you.

“So, are you going to play with me?”―Huh?

“I'm bored. Oppa broke his promise. He said he'd definitely play with me…….”

Kim Minwoo scooped Naye into his arms.

“Oppa's sorry. Were you upset?”

“……

A little.”

“I'll play with you as much as you want today. Want to see something fun?”

“Something fun?”

“Yeah. Something flashy and dazzling.”

Magic was usually like that.

And if it was SS-rank magic, it should be even more entertaining than most fireworks displays. Cedric had been the same.

He also needed to test just how useful Merhen was.

If he could keep his promise to play with Naye while testing her, even better.

“I wanna see!”

“Then let's go.”

Time to test a Legion Commander's abilities.