Damn Necromancer - Chapter 34

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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 Extravagant Necromancer (34)
Divine Fruit
The Divine Fruit of the Mother Tree.
It’s not an item you can obtain by force alone. You’d have to tear through the forest and slaughter the elves, and even if you did that—
‘They’d destroy it first.’
Rather than hand it over to a wretch like you, we’ll shatter it! Something along those lines—the elves would obliterate the Divine Fruit rather than let him have it.
That was why he’d secured Elise’s promise beforehand.
Thanks to that, even after dealing with one of the elders, he was able to enter the heart of the Mother Tree without incident.
“……Please take it.”
The place she pointed to.
A single Divine Fruit sat inside a wooden box.
“Thank you.”
He picked up the Divine Fruit.
[Divine Fruit of the Mother Tree]
[Grade: A+]
[A fruit that rarely blooms on the Mother Tree. Eating it should improve your health.]
[Effect: All ability scores increased by 20.]
“Oh.”
Kim Min-woo let out an exclamation upon seeing the Divine Fruit. He then looked at Elise.
“The Divine Fruit’s potency is better than I expected. This Mother Tree must be quite old, then?”
“……It’s a descendant of the World Tree. It’s also the only Mother Tree remaining on the continent.”
He nodded.
The World Tree—one of the standard rules of fantasy worlds.
It was the tree that elves loved most.
But that didn’t mean elves only dwelled in World Trees.
Seeds of the World Tree.
They would take those seeds and migrate to other regions.
The trees that grew from those seeds were called Mother Trees.
‘It’s like the difference between Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, more or less.’
In any case.
The Divine Fruits he’d seen so far had ranged between B and A Grade at best.
But this Divine Fruit was a step higher—A+ Grade.
“Did the World Tree survive?”
“……No. It burned and fell.”
That made sense.
Kim Min-woo nodded in understanding.
When the World Tree is destroyed, the oldest Mother Tree assumes its role.
This Mother Tree, being the only one that remained, was likely in the process of evolving into a World Tree.
That would explain the Divine Fruit’s heightened potency.
‘Excellent.’
He smiled slightly to himself.
The Divine Fruit’s stat boost was certainly remarkable, but its other effect was far more broken.
‘It bypasses ability score caps.’
The common disclaimer found on elixirs: “Ability scores of XX or higher cannot be increased.”
Divine Fruit stat increases simply didn’t count against that limit. There was a reason he’d gone to such lengths to obtain it.
‘This is the kind of situation where it’s worth the effort.’
Normal Gates typically lack any semblance of story. You enter, destroy everything, and leave.
Even when elves are present, most of them are hostile, and building affection is difficult.
Hidden Gates, however, were different.
A sprawling stage.
Multiple races and the conflicts that arose from them—even their resolution. The nature of the stage meant that even those picky elves made first contact, and he’d seized the opportunity.
So to obtain a Divine Fruit, you’d either need to meet an elf in a Hidden Gate and build extremely high affection, or perform a favor so great you save their entire race.
“It’s difficult.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, I’m truly grateful that you’ve been so generous in giving me this Divine Fruit.”
As he bowed slightly, Elise shook her head and spoke.
“……That’s not it. I’ve come to understand much from this experience. In a situation like this…… perhaps your approach might be the right answer after all.”
Had she learned something.
She was a rather commendable elf.
“Will you consume the Divine Fruit now?”
“That’s my intention.”
The Sword Spirit Pill was better left unused.
It would bump against stat caps.
But the Divine Fruit was different.
Even if I consumed it now, there’d be no major consequence for my next essence advance.
‘Before the Apostle makes a move.’
I needed to arm the skeletons with crafting and alchemy skills as quickly as possible.
For that, summoning as many of them as I could would be ideal.
‘Twenty magic power, plus the ten-percent boost from Indomitable Spirit, makes twenty-two.’
I could summon another eighty-eight skeletons. And that’s before accounting for the stat advantages I’d gain from fighting the Apostle.
There was no reason not to eat it.
Crunch!
I bit into the Divine Fruit.
A sweet fragrance bloomed across my tongue, and a refreshing energy spread through my entire body.
[All stats increased by 20!]
A pleasant notification materialized before my eyes.
* * *
[The Skeleton Squad’s crafting experience rises significantly!]
[Concentrated crafting experience generates a new skill!]
[The skeletons can now use Dwarvish Craftsmanship (F)!]
[Learning another crafting-type skill! Proficiency rises more rapidly!]
[Skeleton 507 acquires alchemy faster…….]
[Skeleton 801…….]
[The power of Collective Intelligence!]
[The skeleton swarm grasps the subtleties of alchemy!]
[The skeletons can now use Elven Alchemy (F)!]
“They got it?!”
—Screech! Elder brother! What’s happening?!
Urkan, who’d been camped nearby, jolted awake and looked about frantically.
“Oh, sorry. Go back to sleep.”
—……Snore! Puff! Screech!
Urkan collapsed back into slumber instantly.
The winter was bitter cold.
The orcs slept tough, draped in a few hides apiece.
We’d cleared every monster in the area, so we had to hunt farther and farther out.
That’s why we were camping.
—Screech! Elder brother! Are you heading out?
“Yeah. Eat this and stay alert—keep watch on the perimeter.”
I handed jerky to the watch-post orcs circling the campsite.
They brightened immediately, nodding their tusked faces in agreement.
With that, I stepped outside.
I cancelled the summons on about ten skeletons, then called them back.
Clatter!
Ten skeletons rose to their feet.
‘Might as well test it.’
I couldn’t resist.
I pulled materials abundantly from the Subspace Ring—all byproducts of high-level monsters.
Technically, a forge or alchemy facility was needed to use these skills properly.
But lacking infrastructure didn’t prevent skill use entirely.
It just made the success rate considerably lower.
“Use these to craft some gear or potions. Anything—keep going until you land one success.”
Nod.
The skeletons extended their hands forward.
[Skeleton 1 uses Dwarvish Craftsmanship (F)!]
[Skeleton 501 uses Elven Alchemy (F)!]
.
.
[Critical Failure!]
[The materials handled by the caster are far too high-grade! Proficiency accumulates!]
[Critical Failure!]
[The grade of materials the caster handles…….]
[Critical Failure!]
.
.
[Crude Success!]
[A Very Crude Minotaur Bone Sword is crafted!]
[Proficiency in Dwarvish Craftsmanship (F) increases significantly!]
[Success!]
[A Strange Invisibility Potion is crafted!]
[Proficiency in Elven Alchemy (F) increases very significantly!]
After materials exploded from all directions, the results finally came one by one.
I examined the items.
[Very Crude Minotaur Bone Sword]
[Grade: Normal+]
[Level Requirement: 230 or higher]
[A sword made from the bones of a Minotaur. A craft piece full of beginner’s inexperience.]
[Effect 1. Strength +10, Agility +10]
[Effect 2. Weight +20%]
[Strange Invisibility Potion]
[Grade: Normal+]
[A potion that seems to turn you transparent when drunk. But it appears to have side effects as well.]
[Effect 1. Upon consumption, you become invisible for 5 minutes.]
[Effect 2. Upon consumption, you experience random side effects.]
“Heh-heh.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
A critical failure?
I’d only just learned the skill and I was handling high-grade materials.
Of course that would happen.
But what mattered far more than that was—
‘I’ve opened up possibilities.’
All the crafted items had a plus sign attached to them.
It would have been hard to show such a result if I’d studied ordinary craftsmanship or alchemy. The Dwarves and Elves—specialists in their respective fields.
Because I’d received their techniques directly, I could produce this sight.
When you used a skill, proficiency accumulated and the Grade rose.
Of course, that didn’t apply to Kim Min-woo.
My pathetic body rejected growth in any skill whatsoever.
But the skeletons were different.
These creatures could accumulate proficiency and grow their skills.
Crafting skills were no exception.
The higher the grade of materials used, the faster crafting skill proficiency accumulated.
‘Materials are overflowing.’
Whether from auction houses or Gates.
They could be obtained anywhere.
And skeletons came in staggering numbers.
While other crafters accumulated proficiency by making one or two items, skeletons could attempt crafting with thousands upon thousands, building proficiency through sheer volume.
The ceiling was absurdly high.
‘And even if these were trash items…….’
There was always demand.
They were plus-grade items, after all.
Sell them cheap and they’d move. It wasn’t just investment—capital recovery was built into the system.
A virtuous cycle of hot money printing had emerged.
For any other Necromancer, such a thing would be impossible.
Skeletons had no intelligence.
And deploying intelligent undead on production would fall far short in volume. Those kinds consumed too much mana to Summon.
Even at the Dullahan tier, most Necromancers couldn’t field ten of them.
‘And they wouldn’t have Dwarvish and Elven crafting techniques either.’
This was an art possible only because of Kim Min-woo.
“Death Lord is divine, and I am invincible.”
I declared it solemnly.
Rapid level-up.
Two crafting techniques.
The Divine Fruit of Mother Tree, followed by a Bound Skill Book.
This expedition to the Gate had already paid off beyond expectation with just these.
‘And there’s still more to come.’
The Apostle Belitas.
As the presumed boss of this B-Grade Gate, he would surely drop something worth having.
Awakeners didn’t search for Hidden Gates like moths to a flame for nothing.
The rewards available in a Hidden Gate were beyond anything imaginable in a Normal Gate—they were simply everywhere.
Though the difficulty was correspondingly steep, of course.
He checked the Resistance Army’s strength assessment.
[Current Resistance Army Status]
[Leader: Kim Min-woo]
[Members: Humans 1, Orcs 6,363, Dwarves 532, Elves 421]
[Condition: Well-armed regular forces]
[Average Level: 161]
[Food situation: Very poor.]
[Morale: Burning with resolve]
[Enemy Alert Level: 31 (They are aware there is a significant problem.)]
It had been ten days since consuming the Divine Fruit of Mother Tree.
In that time, the orcs had gathered until their numbers exceeded six thousand, and their weaponry had become solid.
The average level had also risen considerably.
The weaker orcs were culled in hunts. The structure ensured that stronger orcs with higher levels survived in greater numbers.
As a result, the average level could only keep climbing.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
‘Except for one thing.’
The enemy alert level.
It had jumped dramatically from 5 to 31 last time. At that threshold, even a Witch would be wary—certainly an Apostle would.
Yet the creature had not attacked first.
‘Clearly, they must be wary of the orcs.’
He had heard much from the dwarves and elves over these past days.
One of those stories was that the Witch greatly feared orcs.
In the days when war raged everywhere, armies would swarm at the mere rumor of orc activity and crush them utterly. By that logic, the military should have already arrived.
They would have learned of the orc disturbance by now.
Yet they hadn’t come?
That meant they understood what this struggle truly hinged upon.
‘Time.’
Orcs consumed vast quantities of food.
The food problem was slowly strangling their prospects.
The fruit the elves supplied fell woefully short.
That was why he had been hunting relentlessly, even establishing campsites.
‘No need to rush. I would have thought the same.’
The past and present differed in many ways.
As the cold grew brutal, countless creatures perished.
Even if orcs stirred, they could not muster forces beyond a certain threshold. They would starve to death within mere days.
‘So they’re just staying put inside the Fortress, holding their ground.’
Wait me out—can you endure?
That was roughly the sentiment.
Apostle Belitas.
The creature was proving far more cautious than he had anticipated.
“But there’s a problem for them. We have a trump card.”
Belitas had failed to account for one crucial fact.
Within the Gate existed the Middle Ground—a superb stronghold.
An Awakener who entered a Gate could leave the Middle Ground and re-enter it later.
Of course, this wasn’t possible infinitely.
‘It’s a one-time use only.’
If he left and returned within three days, he would be sent back to the Middle Ground; only after completing the Gate could he return freely.
He could leave the Gate and return once.
Normally, this wouldn’t serve as a variable at all.
A single exit and return could hardly solve the orcs’ food shortage.
But for Kim Min-woo, it was different.
He was drowning in cash.
If he loaded up multiple Subspace Rings with supplies and then returned to clear them out?
The Subspace was a vacuum, so food didn’t rot in there.
Kim Min-woo smiled to himself.
The past week.
He’d been tracking through the Middle Ground with the orcs, searching relentlessly.
And he’d found it.
But he hadn’t left right away.
If he went out foraging and Belitas chose that moment to attack, it’d be a disaster.
So he’d been probing carefully to see whether the creature had any intention of emerging.
And now he was certain.
The bastard was camping out this far, hunting and everything — and still refusing to show himself?
A born camper.
He had no intention of coming out at all.
Because of that, Kim Min-woo had leveled up to exactly 101 — the next consumption threshold — and had taught his skeletal army techniques to his heart’s content.
Now supplies were running thin.
It was time to cash in his one-time golden ticket.
“I’m going to show you what it means when there’s something faster than the fastest runner.”
Belitas was about to be very, very surprised.
Even if tens of thousands — over twenty thousand — orcs were hunted down, their meat would still be abundantly full and nutritious.

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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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