Damn Necromancer - Chapter 28

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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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The Profligate Necromancer (28)
The chimeras’ eyes gleamed with malice.
―Necromancer. You have made a foolish judgment. You too shall be disposed of.
Their pincers clattered menacingly.
Then.
[The orcs witness a hero!]
[They are greatly impressed by your courage!]
[They break free from learned terror!]
[Resistance kindles in their hearts!]
―Screech! Urkan won’t abandon his brothers!
Urkan moved to his side first.
The massive axe blade gleamed with a sharp cold light.
The orcs lifted their axes one by one.
Before long, every orc in the village was glaring at the chimeras with dark intent.
―Screech! Great warrior! We follow!
―We are not vermin!
―Foul monster! Death to it!
―Slay them.
The horde of chimeras clattered their massive pincers. Elongated spider legs struck the snow-covered ground.
The chimeras began to surge forward.
“Forward, brothers!”
―Orcs! Orcs!
Kim Min-woo and his orc forces charged ahead as well.
Just before the gap closed, he summoned skeletons beneath their feet.
Pale white hands seized dozens of spider legs frantically.
The rushing creatures’ momentum slowed slightly.
‘Deal with the commander first.’
He summoned Cedric and a mage contingent. The largest chimera among them.
Its pincers swung wide.
It carved into the ground with a sliding motion.
His body slipped and ducked beneath the creature’s torso.
A body festooned with eight legs.
He raised his sword with all his strength beneath it.
[The Title, ‘Strong Hunter,’ activates!]
[Damage increases by 10%!]
Damage amplification against monsters more than 200 levels above him.
As the effect triggered, his blade carved deep into the creature’s vulnerable underbelly, raking across its torso in a single, brutal line.
Purple ichor exploded outward.
―Shriek!
The chimera screamed from the agony blooming beneath it.
Before it could even recover, Cedric thrust his spear.
[You use Dragon Strike (S)!]
Tremendous force gathered along the spear shaft and crashed into the chimera’s foreleg.
A sickening crunch.
But the creature’s torment was far from over.
―Screech! Die!
Urkan, eyes blazing scarlet, brought his axe down again and again with thunderous force.
A B-rank chimera and D-rank orcs.
Normally, the chimera should never be driven back.
But Urkan was different.
He was a boss monster.
His might was on full display even against a chimera.
With each savage axe stroke, the pincers crumpled and buckled.
Cedric and Urkan’s coordinated assault.
Added to Kim Min-woo’s blade strikes against the creature’s vulnerable belly, and the magical barrage that the mages unleashed from their position at its rear, the onslaught was relentless.
In moments, the commander’s body had been reduced to tatters.
Kim Min-woo rolled clear and planted his foot on the chimera’s torso.
He vaulted upward with all his force and landed on its back.
He plunged his blade deep into the creature’s throat.
A final, gurgling shriek.
The chimera staggered and collapsed, clutching at the fountain of blood erupting from its severed throat.
It crumpled to the ground.
[Level increased!]
[Skeleton combat experience gained…….]
[Skeleton Mage combat experience gained…….]
I turned my attention to the remaining chimera.
Orcs and skeletons swarmed from all sides, unleashing their attacks.
The chimera pack showed no mercy either. An orc and skeleton, caught in the beast’s massive pincers, were cleanly bisected.
Thanks to Death Road’s effect, the skeleton resurrected, but the orc did not.
Even the revived skeleton was in poor condition.
One of the chimera’s legs kicked it squarely, and its summon was cancelled.
“Urkan! Cedric!”
―We go.
―Shriek! Time to kill!
Humans, undead, and orcs rejoined the battle once more.
* * *
“Phew.”
The chimera pack lay sprawled, their limbs torn to shreds.
Even though I’d used skeletons as meat shields, the orc casualties were steep.
Nearly thirty orcs had been ground up in a single engagement.
‘Three levels for one battle.’
Even after splitting the experience with the orcs who fought alongside me, that was what I’d gained.
It testified to just how formidable the chimeras were.
Then.
Urkan approached my side.
Scratching his head, he spoke.
―……Brother. Thank you. If you hadn’t been here, we’d all be dead. We only lost this many because of you.
“It goes both ways. You and your people showed courage—that’s why we survived.”
Had they not stepped forward, I’d have been chugging Doping Potions like water. Stack that up enough times and addiction sets in. By preventing that, the orcs had played a crucial role.
I gave his shoulder a firm pat.
[Urkan’s Favorability has risen sharply!]
[Urkan now regards you as a ‘true brother’!]
[Urkan will now hurl himself into fire itself at your command!]
Loyalty test passed.
I gazed at the message with quiet satisfaction. Shortly after, the orcs began hauling the chimera corpses over to a bonfire.
―Shriek! Delicious meat! Meat!
―Can’t wait to eat! So hungry!
Saliva dripping freely, the orcs set about roasting the chimera. Given how omnivorous they were, this would be just another meal to them.
Sizzle, sizzle!
Once they’d roasted the chimera as if it were ordinary game,
Urkan neatly cleaved off the chimera leader’s head with his axe.
―Shriek! Brother! This part tastes best! I’ll save it for you!
Despite his words, longing flickered plainly in Urkan’s eyes.
“……You eat plenty. I’m not hungry.”
―……Shriek! Then I’ll have it!
The orcs began devouring the chimera meat with reckless abandon.
There was something pitiful about the sight.
‘I can’t very well break out my own rations.’
A month or so could be managed this way. I’d brought a considerable supply into the Pocket Dimension, after all.
But that wasn’t a permanent solution. Eventually, we’d all be starving together.
Unless it was truly urgent, it was better to ration what I had.
Fortunately, the chimeras were large creatures.
A hundred-odd orcs could eat their fill.
This should sustain them for a day or two.
In the meantime, I examined the new Titles I’d acquired.
[New Title List]
[1. Brother of the Ice Forest Orcs]
[You have become a brother to the Ice Forest Orcs.]
[Effect: Orc Favorability rises somewhat faster]
[2. Walker of the Hero’s Path]
[You chose a path fraught with trials. If you succeed, the true effect may finally reveal itself.]
[Effect: ???]
‘Not bad at all.’
Moving alongside the orcs now, that Title which rapidly elevated Favorability was proving its worth.
The Title of one walking the Hero’s Path felt like the kind that guaranteed spectacular rewards on success.
Next, he examined the Gate’s revised Difficulty Rating.
‘B-rank, then…….’
A jump from D to B in a single bound—two entire ranks. Average monster levels in a B-rank Gate ranged between 251 and 350.
The kind of Difficulty where orc guards like those he’d seen in the Death Road trials poured in like a pack of hounds.
By siding with the orcs, the Gate’s clear objective had almost certainly shifted.
That signal alone told him how much harder this had become.
‘At least it’s not S-rank.’
In S-rank Gates, monster levels started at 500 and climbed from there.
Even if he was the world’s number-one player, impossible was impossible.
There was a difference between confidence and recklessness—one had to know which was which.
Had this been S-rank, he would have made straight for the middle ground and fought his way out.
In that case, escaping first and thinking later would have been the right call.
But B-rank was different.
Hard, certainly—but the kind of challenge you could wriggle through if you bent the right way. Nothing insurmountable.
Doable.
‘Now I need to decide which direction to head.’
Fortunately, he had a sage at hand to light the way.
He approached the elderly orc, whose mouth glistened with grease.
“Bektar. At this rate, we’ll starve to death. Is there any way to find food?”
The orc, still working his mandibles around spider legs, responded.
―Tchk-tchk. Two options come to mind.
“Tell me.”
―The first is hunting. Even in this cold, monsters have survived. Hunt them, and we won’t go hungry for a while. But it carries risk.
He nodded slowly.
If hunting were easy, these orcs would have already devoured everything long ago.
Whatever roamed these lands was surely far stronger than common orcs.
It was a temporary measure, but at least one path was open.
“And the second?”
―……Tchk-tchk. To resolve the source of this cold itself.
“The source? What do you mean?”
―The Ice Dragon handed the Essence of Winter to the Witch. She shattered it and scattered fragments across the continent. Over them, she built a Fortress.
[You have acquired the keyword: ‘Essence of Winter’.]
[You have acquired the keyword: ‘Fortress’.]
“So if we dealt with the essence inside the Fortress, this weather could be broken?”
―Tchk-tchk, precisely. At least the cold of the Northern Region would lift. Life would bloom again in these lands.
“Tell me everything you know about the Fortress.”
―The Fortress is guarded by an Apostle, the Witch’s subordinate. The Apostle’s power is fearsome. This Northern Region……is the domain of Apostle Belitas.
[You have acquired the keyword: ‘Apostle Belitas’.]
“Beyond the Apostle—are there many underlings?”
―Many. Corpse collectors, dark sorcerers, necromancers, wraiths……the Fortress reeks of death.
A picture was beginning to form.
‘These Apostles—they’re like intermediate bosses, in a sense.’
Breaking through a Fortress teeming with subordinates, then uncovering and destroying—or seizing—the essence hidden within.
If he managed that, the weather might lift, and the Gate’s clear condition might be satisfied.
Then.
Bektar, scraping his fangs clean with a spider claw, spoke again.
―Tchk-tchk. Mighty warrior. The corpse collectors are dead. Soon the Apostle’s servants will notice the disturbance and come flooding in.
“Calm about it, aren’t you.”
―From the moment we stood against them, we accepted death. And…….
Bektar’s eyes grew grave.
―I do not believe a warrior as great as you will fall easily in a place like this. We shall stand with you against the Witch. Until our breath fails and our lives are spent!
[You have acquired the keyword: ‘Resistance Established’!]
[You may now cultivate the Resistance.]
[The Resistance will fight alongside you against the Witch and the Ice Dragon.]
[But beware.]
[The more the Resistance grows, the more closely the Witch and the Ice Dragon will watch you.]
[Current Resistance Strength]
[Leader: Kim Min-woo]
[Members: 1 human, 102 orcs]
[Capability: Crude and primitive]
[Average Level: 121]
[Food Situation: Not particularly good]
[Morale: Burning with fighting spirit]
[Enemy Vigilance Level: 0 (They don’t even know the Resistance exists yet)]
Now the clearing method for this Gate had become clear.
‘A factional war, then.’
Build up the Resistance’s numbers and raise their average level. After cultivating them that way, the structure was to clash headlong with the Apostle.
Since the Apostle’s subordinates would be showing up now and then, I’d have to overcome that as well.
But one thing was certain.
‘One hundred two orcs can’t do a damned thing.’
There’s a reason the saying goes that numbers are king.
I needed bulk.
“Are there other orc tribes around here besides you lot?”
―Squeak. Small tribes, a few of them. We’re always competing over food.
I watched the orcs finishing their meal, sucking noisily at the bones as though reluctant to let them go.
I shouted toward them.
“Once you’ve finished eating, grab your weapons! We’re heading out to deal with the orc bands next door!”
―Squeak? A fight?
―Squeak! I’m in too!
The orcs’ eyes flashed as they seized their axes.

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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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