Chapter 17

Become a Legendary Necromancer - Chapter 017

People dying inside Gates was a common occurrence.

I had witnessed it often myself.

Countless Awakened dying at the hands of monsters because of a momentary mistake.

Some had limbs torn off or severed...

And if they were unlucky, their entire bodies melted away, or they suffered something even worse.

That was why.

Even though two people had just died right before my eyes, I could remain completely calm.

However.

The situation now was somewhat different.

Monsters. Skeletons.

This wasn't a matter of people dying at the hands of someone or something like that.

I was about to kill someone directly with my own hands.

I had always made a promise to myself.

If the moment ever came when I had to kill someone.

I would never hesitate.

And yet, despite that...

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Now that I was actually facing such a situation, my heart was pounding like crazy.

I could clearly feel the hand holding my bow trembling.

I was hesitating.

'Can I really kill him?'

The question suddenly crossed my mind.

But it lasted only an instant.

'You idiot. Get a hold of yourself. That bastard tried to kill you. If you hadn't been strong enough, you'd be the one dying.'

As soon as I reached that conclusion, my mind began to calm as though by magic.

My trembling hand gradually steadied.

“Now you're the only one left.”

Ryu Jun-hwi turned his gaze toward me.

“You fucking...!”

He quickly raised his sword.

I released the bowstring toward him.

Twang! Whoosh!

Just like before, Ryu Jun-hwi dodged the arrow.

Up to that point, everything was the same.

But what followed was entirely different.

There was no trace of composure left in Ryu Jun-hwi.

“...Argh!”

Gritting his teeth, Ryu Jun-hwi desperately swung his sword.

Because the Skeletons had begun attacking him.

The three Skeletons pressed in on Ryu Jun-hwi as though surrounding him.

And I took advantage of the openings to fire my bow.

Crunch!

Before long, an arrow easily pierced his armor and lodged in his shoulder.

His armor was D-rank, but that didn't matter.

Because my bow was also a D-rank weapon.

“Urgh!”

From that moment onward, the balance of the battle collapsed in an instant.

Crunch!

An arrow struck Ryu Jun-hwi in the thigh.

Naturally, his movements became severely restricted.

Crunch!

When another arrow struck his opposite thigh, he could barely move at all.

From then on, it was no different from shooting at a stationary target.

I no longer needed the Skeletons.

More than a dozen arrows pierced Ryu Jun-hwi's body, making him look like a skewer.

“Guuurgh...”

Ryu Jun-hwi made a wet, gurgling sound.

Even if he had desperately managed to protect every part of his body where a hit would kill him instantly...

He was still alive?

“Spa, spareee...”

Immediately afterward, Ryu Jun-hwi uttered something incomprehensible.

His voice was terribly slurred.

However.

“P-please... spare me.”

His pronunciation gradually became clearer.

It was at that moment.

[Honored Master...]

Yulias hesitantly continued.

[Um... I could just finish him off for you...]

Apparently, he thought I was hesitating to kill Ryu Jun-hwi.

At least, that was what I would have thought if he hadn't continued speaking.

[After ripping off his head, I could stomp it into pieces...]

“...”

I suddenly remembered what Yulias had said earlier.

-Let's rip those bastards' heads off and stomp them into the ground!

At the time, Yulias had been fuming so hard that he was practically snorting.

Now that I thought about it, those words hadn't simply been spoken in anger.

The fact that he'd brought it up again made that clear.

Yulias, you... were a frightening little guy, weren't you?

Anyway.

“No.”

I refused firmly.

Creeeeak—

I drew my bowstring toward Ryu Jun-hwi.

I had already made up my mind to kill him.

'I have to get used to this.'

It was something an Awakened couldn't avoid.

Because situations like this happened all the time.

Besides.

'I need to get used to it as quickly as possible.'

The seven mysterious individuals who had suddenly appeared before my regression.

If I wanted to confront them, I needed to become accustomed to things like this.

Why?

Because everyone connected to the Demon God Worshippers would die by my hands.

That was the only way to prevent the world from being destroyed.

“P-pleeease...”

Ryu Jun-hwi stood there, his entire body pierced with arrows like a hedgehog.

He struggled to continue speaking.

“If you kill me... you won't get away with it, e-either... Do you think... they'll... just let this go?”

“They?”

Ryu Jun-hwi was speaking as though someone powerful was backing him.

“That's right... Someone you wouldn't even dare to stand against...”

“So who are they?”

“...I can't tell you.”

Right. Of course he couldn't. Apparently, he was just saying whatever came to mind in a desperate attempt to survive.

Normally, someone making a threat like that would reveal who was backing them.

And...

Even if someone really was backing him, it didn't matter.

“Do you honestly think someone that powerful would care if a nobody like you died?”

“That's—”

“Besides.”

I quickly interrupted Ryu Jun-hwi.

“I'll deal with that myself.”

In any case, Ryu Jun-hwi didn't seem willing to reveal his backer.

Or perhaps he simply couldn't think of anyone to name.

Anyway.

There was no point continuing this conversation.

I released the bowstring toward Ryu Jun-hwi.

Twang! Thud!

The arrow struck him between the eyes.

Thump!

Ryu Jun-hwi toppled backward like a rotten log.

I had killed someone directly with my own hands.

But.

“...”

I didn't feel nearly as shocked as I'd expected.

I felt strangely indifferent.

So much so that I could hardly believe I'd actually just killed a person.

If anything, I'd been more nervous and shaken before killing him.

'Is it because I saw people die so often before my regression?'

Well, whatever the reason, it didn't matter.

'As long as I don't become like that bastard.'

A monster who could talk about murdering people as though recalling amusing memories.

As long as I never became someone like that, it would be fine.

“Still, I should collect what I can.”

I approached the corpses and began gathering their equipment.

I obtained three items from the bodies.

[Danis's Ring (D)]

-Description: A ring made using Danis's bones.

-Effect: Attack Power +10%, Strength +5, Agility +2

-Required Level to Equip: 10

[Victor's Wristguard (D)]

-Description: A wristguard made using Victor's skin.

-Effect: Skill Attack Power +10%, Strength +4, Stamina +3

-Required Level to Equip: 10

[Helton's Amulet (D)]

-Description: An amulet possessed by Helton, imbued with an Aura of Vitality.

-Effects:

1) Activates Aura of Vitality when the wearer is on the verge of death.

2) Mana +4, Magic Power +3

-Required Level to Equip: 5

Unfortunately, Helton's Amulet was the only one I could equip right now.

'So the reason his speech returned to normal just before he died was because of Helton's Amulet.'

Aura of Vitality.

An effect that regenerated health without potions or healing skills, as long as the user hadn't died.

In other words, as long as you avoided being killed instantly, you could survive even the most serious injuries.

'Of course, because its grade is low, it's useless against injuries involving curses or bleeding...'

Even so, there was no denying that it was an extremely useful item.

'I'm lucky. I never expected them to have an item like this.'

I placed Danis's Ring and Victor's Wristguard in my Inventory.

Because the level requirements prevented me from equipping them yet.

'Though I should be able to equip them before the day is over.'

I put Helton's Amulet in my back pocket.

Unlike the other items, I could use this one.

'It looks like it's about time to expand my Inventory, too.'

With that thought, I opened my Status Window.

[Status Window]

-Name: Yoo Seong

-Level: 8

-Nationality: Republic of Korea

-Class: Necromancer

-Stats: Strength 19, Agility 16, Stamina 4, Mana 14 (+4), Magic Power 12 (+3)

-Unique Skill: Soul Devouring (EX)

-General Skills: Mana Release, Necromancy (EX), Necromancer's Authority (EX), Curse of Weakness (EX), Triple Release (D)

_____________

After thoroughly stripping the corpses of their valuable equipment.

I immediately activated Soul Devouring.

The corpses of the Rat Knights we'd killed were still scattered around the area.

Previously, I'd kept this skill hidden, but there was no longer any need to do so.

Click!

A gigantic door appeared in midair and swung open.

Black threads began emerging from the Rat Knights' corpses and flowing inside.

But then.

“Huh?”

It wasn't just the Rat Knights.

The humans were included as well.

[You have absorbed the soul of a Rat Knight.]

[You have absorbed Ryu Jun-hwi's soul.]

[You have absorbed Seo Do-chil's soul.]

[You have absorbed Jang Heung-su's soul.]

...

Immediately afterward, System messages appeared asking whether I wanted to store their souls in my Inventory.

“This actually works?”

I turned my head toward Yulias.

[Hehe.]

Yulias lifted his chin proudly.

He spoke excitedly.

[Human souls can also be stored in the Soul Inventory!]

I immediately understood what that meant.

Skills possessed by humans could also be extracted.

And that meant...

'My options have just expanded enormously.'

Naturally, humans generally possessed more skills than monsters.

And they could specifically obtain useful skills.

Of course, I had no intention of committing murder just to obtain those skills...

'But Demon God Worshippers and villains are exceptions.'

In any case, this would undoubtedly prove extremely useful to me in the future.

“That's one thing, but...”

At that point, I tilted my head.

“What's going on with this?”

My Soul Devouring proficiency looked strange.

“Why did it increase so much?”

[Proficiency: 64% → 95%]

My proficiency had increased by more than 30%.

Three humans and a dozen or so Rat Knights.

That was all I'd absorbed, yet my proficiency had risen this much?

Even when I'd absorbed the D-rank Red Orc, my proficiency had increased by only 10%.

[Absorbing the souls of monsters and absorbing human souls are entirely different matters.]

Yulias continued explaining.

The fastest way to increase proficiency.

Was to absorb human souls.

Anyway.

“I should save Ryu Jun-hwi's soul in the Soul Inventory last. The skill he possesses is E-rank.”

When a soul was stored in the Soul Inventory.

If it possessed C-rank and D-rank skills, the C-rank skill would be extracted.

And if it possessed multiple C-rank skills, one would be extracted at random.

If it possessed only one skill, that skill would naturally be extracted.

Afterward, I stored Jang Heung-su's and Seo Do-chil's souls in the Soul Inventory, in that order.

As expected, both possessed only F-rank skills.

Every extracted skill was F-rank.

That meant neither possessed any higher-grade skills.

[Seo Do-chil's soul has been replaced with Ryu Jun-hwi's soul.]

[Ryu Jun-hwi's soul has been stored in the Soul Inventory.]

Shing—

[Soul Inventory Status]

-Currently Stored Souls: Red Orc (D), Ryu Jun-hwi (F)

Extracted Skills: Iron Shield (D), Blade Explosion (E)

When Seo Do-chil's soul disappeared, a new skill called Blade Explosion took its place.

Blade Explosion was the skill Ryu Jun-hwi had used against me at the beginning.

“Blade Explosion has far greater destructive power against a single target than Flame Strike.”

Well, that should take care of things here.

“Shall we get going now?”

I turned toward Yulias.

Yulias answered energetically.

[I'm ready!!]

The reason I'd entered this Gate in the first place.

The final Hidden Route among the F-rank Gates I knew about before my regression.

Now it was time to move and claim it.