Damn Necromancer - Chapter 111

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Wastrel Necromancer (111)
Dullahan
Dullahan.
Rather than a head, there was something like blue flames flickering near where its face should be—an Undead whose emotions could be roughly gauged by the movement of those flames.
The cluster of Dullahans tilted their heads in unison, their gaze fixed on Kim Min-woo.
They had already intuited, by instinct, that this man was their summoner—their master.
‘A remarkable Necromancer.’
The moment they materialized, an overwhelming power radiated from their bodies.
And if he’d managed to summon this many Dullahans on top of that, he must surely be an extraordinary Necromancer.
But that was one thing.
Why was he standing there with a sword drawn, beckoning them with his finger as though taunting them?
And telling them all to come at him at once?
The Dullahans had once been knights—beings of such towering pride, such bloated egos, that none could rival them.
‘How arrogant.’
‘He dares provoke us with a blade?’
The eyes of the Dullahan mass grew menacing.
At once—
―I’ll go first.
The first Dullahan to be summoned. Number One.
Drawing his sword, he approached Kim Min-woo and spoke.
―I am Duil of Reynold.
“That’s too long. Just go by Duil from now on.”
―……Duil?
“You’re Dullahan Number One.”
Did he really just name the first Dullahan “Duil” based on that numbering?
He’d met quite a few masters over the years, but never had he heard a name quite this careless.
―……I am Duil of Reynold. If it is difficult to pronounce, you may simply call me Milton.
“Duil.”
―……Milton.
“Duil.”
―You insolent fool!
He’d made concession after concession, thinking this man cut an impressive figure as a Necromancer, and still the wretched fool refused?
The Dullahan lunged forward, sword drawn, crazed with fury.
And then—
Slice!
The sound of something being cut rang out. The other Dullahans stared at Milton with vacant eyes.
‘Is it over?’
‘Already?’
‘Pathetic.’
‘Surely he didn’t kill him?’
Should this Necromancer resort to other techniques as befitted his station, that would be one thing.
But he fought with the blade, incongruously, like some swordsman.
No trace of Skill activation anywhere—he must have simply subdued Milton in a single exchange.
That would’ve been manageable, but actually killing him—that was problematic.
There weren’t many Necromancers capable of summoning high-tier Undead like themselves.
And those who could summon them in such numbers were rarer still.
If he died, they would have to endure a sleep near death’s door until another Necromancer powerful enough to summon them appeared.
Milton probably didn’t want that either, so he must’ve held back, just barely subduing him……
―……Huh?
Before that thought could even finish forming—
Milton’s body split in two down the middle and crumbled.
―……!
Subdued in a single clash?
It wasn’t only the 179 Dullahans who were shocked.
The first Dullahan to step forward. Number One.
Even Milton, who now rose again with his body split in half, stood aghast.
‘What was that?’
Never mind the resurrection—
How on earth had he been subdued so completely?
He’d charged forward sword in hand, and then everything went dark.
“You with me?”
―……How did you manage that?
“Like this.”
This time Kim Min-woo charged first. Duil scrambled to draw his blade.
But the sword that slipped through so smoothly cleaved his body in two anyway.
‘A master……!’
Before the thought could fully form, Duil was unsummoned. The shock wasn’t his alone.
This time, everyone had been watching closely enough to see exactly how Kim Min-woo’s blade split Duil down the middle.
They’d only exchanged a single move.
But they understood it instinctively.
‘He’s a master!’
A true master of the blade.
“Come at me.”
This time three of them stepped forward.
All promptly unsummoned in turn.
Five, seven, ten, twenty…….
The Dullahan horde kept pouring in, growing larger with each wave. Yet Kim Min-woo’s face remained unmoved.
The gap in ability scores was simply insurmountable. The Dullahans were high-tier Undead, true enough, but they’d only just reached Level 1. Their stats averaged around a hundred at best.
Compared to him?
An average of seven hundred.
A sevenfold difference.
And his swordsmanship was equally overwhelming in its superiority.
Dullahans, no matter how skilled, were at best ordinary knights—far too weak to contend with him.
Which was why.
He’d summoned them all at once.
Slash after slash.
The Dullahan horde was being unsummoned in rapid succession.
* * *
“What’s your name?”
―……It is Duil.
“And you?”
―……I am Duil One-Eighty-Two.
Kim Min-woo nodded with satisfaction. Fortunately, these creatures weren’t as stubborn as Cedric.
A single day.
That’s all it took to instill discipline in the Dullahan horde.
“The oath?”
―…….
The Dullahan horde, which had been staring silently in his direction, spoke.
―……I, Duil, do hereby swear my loyalty to you.
―……And I, Duil One-Eighty-Two, do the same.
[All Dullahans have sworn their loyalty!]
[A knight’s oath, steadfast as stone!]
[The Dullahan horde will now execute your every command without question!]
Excellent.
“Right. Once new recruits arrive, you lot handle their discipline training. If they can’t manage it, they report for duty immediately. Clear?”
―……Yes.
After the Dullahan horde’s training was complete, he summoned Cedric.
―Mm…….
A skeleton, materializing abruptly.
Most Dullahans would normally pay skeletons little mind.
Using them as meat shields was the standard practice in any Undead army.
But…….
‘What is this? That skeleton…….’
‘Its presence is overwhelming.’
Their bodies instinctively shrank back!
The Dullahan horde’s faces went rigid at the sight of Cedric.
Cedric, scanning his surroundings, fixed his gaze upon the Dullahan horde.
―You’ve subdued them all?
“Yeah. From now on, you command them too. You’re the Commander-in-Chief. Handle their training as you see fit.”
Delegation was always the best way to avoid tedium.
Cedric was more than capable of training those kinds of recruits without breaking a sweat.
―Agreed.
Cedric nodded and approached the group of Dullahans.
―Pleased to meet you. I’m Cedric. From now on, I’ll be taking command of all of you.
The Dullahans bowed their heads in acknowledgment.
Even from a distance, the aura radiating from their forms spoke of a different caliber entirely—these were Undead of a higher tier.
By bowing, they’d already acknowledged that this creature stood above them. And as Cedric and the Dullahans acquainted themselves,
“Oh right. One thing I’m curious about.”
―What is it?
“Those Dullahans are basically commander-level units, aren’t they?”
―Usually, yes.
“Then what’s the relationship between them and Hae-il? Hae-il is also a commander.”
Cedric was the supreme commander of the Skeleton Unit.
Beneath him were two commander-level entities—Hae-il and Mili.
Mili could be set aside, as she led the Magic Unit anyway.
But Hae-il and the Dullahans—their relationship intrigued him.
The Specters flew about independently, operating more like an autonomous division.
But Skeletons and Dullahans?
They were summoned creatures with direct kinship to one another.
―Are you wondering how their rank will be determined?
“Yeah.”
―In special cases like this, usually… they fight for it.
“Oh, really?”
―That’s right. Undead forces operate on the principle of survival of the fittest, after all.
“So put them against each other and the answer’s obvious.”
―That’s how it’ll go.
He summoned Hae-il in warrior mode.
The moment Hae-il saw him, she snapped off a sharp salute.
“Duil, come over here.”
―……
Duil approached slowly.
Among the one hundred and eighty Dullahans, this one ranked among the most capable.
By number and by skill alike, he was essentially the representative of his kind.
“This skeleton here is a commander, got it? You two are going to fight to determine the intermediate command structure.”
―……That skeleton and I are to fight?
“Yeah. Whoever wins gets command authority.”
Hae-il tapped her sword against her shield provokingly.
―……It’s absurd that we have to resort to combat over this sort of matter.
But what choice was there.
It was an order.
Duil grasped his greatsword in both hands.
‘Who’s going to win.’
Duil was Level 1, but possessed superior experience and technique.
Meanwhile, Hae-il was a commander at Level 101 with considerable combat experience under her belt.
From Kim Min-woo’s perspective, it was unmistakably a clash between amateurs.
‘Though honestly, amateur matches are always the most entertaining.’
Besides, these two were his own summons. There was no way his interest wouldn’t be piqued.
The two summons closed the distance.
Clang!
The shield and greatsword collided with a heavy, resonant impact.
Clang! Clang!
Hae-il continued to block the incoming strikes with her shield.
The flames dancing atop the Dullahan’s shoulders flickered with what seemed like surprise.
Yet his responses remained seasoned and efficient.
The greatsword’s reach was long.
Using that advantage of distance, he began to methodically pressure the skeleton.
Hae-il was gradually being cornered.
‘At this rate, she’s going to be overwhelmed.’
Unless she pulled off something decisive.
And at that very moment, shield raised, Hae-il charged forward.
Duil retreated, his blade cutting through the air.
Crash!
He blocked with his shield.
Then came Hae-il, discarding his own shield and charging forward like a man with nothing to lose.
—…!
A reckless gambit.
Crack!
One of the Dullahan’s bony arms severed cleanly—but in the same motion, Hae-il’s blade buried itself in the creature’s skull.
I’d seen this strategy before somewhere.
‘Did he learn this watching me?’
The Dullahan, apparently not expecting a skeleton to employ a mutual destruction tactic, fell easier than anticipated.
“Hae-il wins!”
As Hae-il hoisted the creature’s remaining arm aloft to seal the victory, the skeleton clicked its teeth triumphantly. The creature turned its confident gaze toward the other Dullahans, flames flickering atop their heads.
The Dullahans seemed startled, their crown-flames wavering.
I resummoned Duil and spoke.
“You lost, didn’t you?”
—…Yes, I did.
The other Dullahans nodded in acknowledgment. Whether the skeleton had fought unconventionally or not was irrelevant.
A loss was a loss, plain and simple.
These were creatures of knightly honor—they accepted defeat cleanly.
“From now on, you take orders from him.”
—…Understood. Then, should the other skeletons also receive orders from him?
“No, nothing like that.”
Hae-il was my favored skeleton, blessed with learning capacity that far exceeded his peers.
Put simply, the others couldn’t perform feats like that.
“Hae-il is your commanding officer. You’re field commanders. For the regular skeletons, just issue orders directly.”
—Yes, sir.
[Melee unit formation completed!]
[Unit Level: Seasoned Undead Division]
[Supreme Commander: Cedric]
[Mid-tier Commander: Hae-il]
[Field Commanders: Duil, Dui, Du-sam… Du-baek-palsip]
[Multiple commanding-tier entities have been added!]
[Unit movements will become far more professional!]
But the melee unit was only one of my forces. With Merchen added, there was now a separate magical and support unit—one where Merchen himself served as supreme commander.
‘That settles the organizational matters.’
[Achievement Shop now open!]
[Tier: Silver (Total Points Earned: 1,630)]
[Achievement Points Available: 600]
I surveyed the Achievement Shop.
The 600 points I’d earned from defeating Han Baek-gil were still unspent.
The reason was simple enough.
‘No urgent need.’
Achievement points didn’t come easy.
First, there was defeating major-tier villains.
I’d already dealt with Han Baek-gil, Korea’s biggest antagonist.
To claim another villain of that caliber, I’d need to venture overseas.
Going abroad to hunt foreign Awakeners wasn’t going to be simple.
If that proved too difficult immediately, I’d need to meet main-cast characters and create some kind of change for them instead.
‘Whether I resolved their long-cherished wishes or changed their professions…’
Some kind of catalyst would earn me points.
But that route had its own complications too.
The second character: Han Si-ah.
And the fourth: Namkoong Min.
Both came with baggage.
‘Han Si-ah is already a mage.’
Unlike Park Si-woo, she’d already undergone her Awakening. She wasn’t a case like Seo Ye-rim, where talent and profession diverged.
And beyond that—
‘Approaching her becomes… complicated.’
Han Si-ah was a character whose background was unusually convoluted.
First, she’s of mixed Korean and German descent.
And on the paternal side, in the German background, there lies…
‘A magical family entangled in the mix.’
The Greif Family.
Roughly speaking, it’s a family where genuine sorcerers gather in considerable numbers—the clan that pacified the German magical world.
Naturally, they’re well-connected with German politics and finance.
The moment I make contact with her, the Greif Family will start watching us.
‘Solving her long-cherished wish is difficult too.’
If Seo Ye-rim’s wish was to be acknowledged by Geom-seon,
then Han Si-ah’s wish was vengeance.
‘Her talent was stolen by the family head and she was abandoned.’
The Greif Family.
A clan with considerable darkness in its past.
Human experimentation is standard, and they dabble in all manner of things.
The moment Han Si-ah was born, the family head recognized her talent and drained a considerable portion of it from her.
The only reason she wasn’t drained completely was that her talent was inherently vast beyond measure.
Just how vast was this talent?
‘With only what little remained, she’s called a magical prodigy.’
After draining her so thoroughly, they sent Han Si-ah to the maternal side.
Not out of kindness.
Think of it as a maturation process.
After all, if the family head wanted to feed again, they’d need to expand their capacity.
And there’s one more reason to add to that.
‘They wanted to fatten her up again.’
Like taking a bite of a fish, getting full, then casually tossing it back into the stream.
Once it’s fattened up again, they’d feed once more.
A true cycle of creation economy.
In any case.
If I make contact with Han Si-ah, the Greif Family will take keen interest as well.
But that’s somewhat troublesome.
‘Small fry don’t matter.’
The Greif Family’s patriarch is quite powerful. If Han Baek-gil is a main-tier villain on the domestic level, he’s an international-tier villain.
And there was another variable.
Shadow is apparently a world-class organization.
It’s easy for bad people to join hands.
If by any chance he’s made contact with Shadow?
‘He’d have received the experience-copying event.’
Drawing his attention now would become incredibly troublesome.
That was why.
I hadn’t made contact with Han Si-ah just yet.
‘As for Namkoong Min…’
Best left unsaid.
He’s complicated in his own right.
It wasn’t without reason that I made contact with Seo Ye-rim and Park Si-woo first.
These two had clear solutions, whereas the other two were far more difficult. That’s why I was saving Achievement Points.
‘Skill Books and equipment are taken care of.’
Now that my Level has jumped considerably,
Skill Books and equipment can be procured from other sources one way or another.
So purchasing items that can’t be obtained elsewhere should be the top priority.
[Purchasing 3 Limit Break Elixirs!]
I bought three Limit Break Elixirs first.
Now I can reach Level 500. That should be safe enough for a while.
My remaining points were 300.
My gaze shifted elsewhere.
[Undead Cocktail]
[Rank: Special]
[A cocktail that the Undead can drink. Those who consume it gain special effects.]
[Effect 1. Only the Undead can consume this.]
[Effect 2. Upon consumption, all Ability Scores of the target Undead increase by 10%.]
[Effect 3. Low probability of granting the Undead a Skill.]
[Effect 4. Upon consumption, the sensory perception of the target Undead becomes slightly more active.]
‘The Undead Cocktail, then…’
Kim Min-woo stared intently at the item.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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