Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 69

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

Chapter 69.
The Fairy King Lukbara II
Shadows.
Entities that held sway over the forest, the Kingdom, the entire world.
had low encounter rates in the early game, and the reason was simple.
‘The moment they appear, the difficulty becomes absolutely absurd.’
The developers, it seemed, possessed at least a shred of conscience—excluding the opening sequence, encounters with them were mercifully rare.
But “rare” was just another way of saying the probability wasn’t zero.
‘Even accounting for that.’
I hadn’t expected to hear it from the Necromancer’s lips, of all people, in a moment like this.
“Your breathing changed.”
The Necromancer spoke.
“Your expression hardened too…… Do you perhaps dislike Shadows? Do you have unpleasant memories? Did you lose someone precious to a Shadow? If so, I do apologize.”
“…….”
“So, continuing what I was saying—Shadows normally parasitize only living organisms. Obviously, yes? They’re a type of parasite after all…… And there’s a part of Shadow parasitism that aligns with my objectives. I concluded that to parasitize a Shadow onto the Undead, I’d ultimately need to keep them in a living state. Or else—”
The Necromancer’s gaze turned toward the Fairy King.
“I’d need to disguise them with enough precision to fool the Shadow…… Because, from what I know, there’s no entity that can distinguish between life and non-life as clearly as a Shadow. The ultimate judge, you might say.”
The Necromancer smiled.
“So I believe that deceiving a Shadow is the same as deceiving the world.”
“Quite grandiose.”
“Thank you for the compliment. In any case, if I could succeed in deceiving the Shadow and parasitizing it onto the Undead, what comes next would be smooth sailing. The Shadow would, as always, perfectly mimic its host’s memories, habits, and personality. Hmm…… I thought it would work that way, but.”
The Necromancer scratched her cheek, looking troubled.
“It turns out nothing in this world is quite so simple. There are variations, you see? There seems to be a compatibility issue between Shadow and host, and having just a body wasn’t enough either. ……What mattered most was the soul, ultimately. In the end, everything must consume something to exist, and in the Shadow’s case, that something is the soul. Ah……! When I proved this fact, I was so……!”
The Necromancer trembled with excitement.
Drool began to leak from between her lips—whatever she was thinking about.
“Ptui. Sorry, very sorry. Whenever I recall this, it’s just…… the dopamine in my brain comes flooding out like a broken faucet…… And yet this sensation is strangely addictive.”
I exhaled.
The reason I’d listened to this lunatic’s rambling for so long wasn’t solely because I was following her proposal, but……
Rather, it was to glean some understanding of her nature.
If you asked whether I gained anything, I’d say about half.
“What’s your real purpose?”
“I’ve been explaining it the whole time.”
“Creating living Undead and overlaying a Shadow onto them—that seems like merely the process, not the goal.”
“Why do you think so?”
“No reason in particular. If anything, it’s the feeling that your gaze is already looking beyond that next stage.”
This was a conviction I couldn’t have reached without facing her directly in conversation.
“Hehehehe…….”
The Necromancer laughed unpleasantly while looking at me. For some reason, the cook Haitan came to mind again.
“Kaindel…… you’re sharp. I like that.”
It wasn’t a misunderstanding—she spoke similarly to him—but.
Naturally, I felt no joy at it.
What good was winning the favor of madwomen like this?
“I’ve already explained everything. I told you, yes? Shadows mimic everything about the organism they parasitize. So precisely that even family, lovers, friends who’ve spent their whole lives with the host couldn’t tell the difference. If you rephrase that…….”
The Necromancer spoke with a somewhat vacant expression.
“……If you overlay a Shadow onto a corpse, isn’t that the same as resurrecting the dead?”
“What?”
“Think about it. If from a dead corpse we can perfectly read the body’s memories, personality, and habits, then the appearance afterward would naturally be that of the original owner, wouldn’t it? How would that differ from reviving the dead?”
“Sophistry. You just said yourself—the Shadow merely mimics the host’s behavior.”
“A truth that doesn’t need to be known. As long as we don’t uncover it, everyone remains happy.”
The Necromancer spoke casually.
“After all, people experience many changes throughout their lives. So uniqueness and unchangeability are actually entirely different qualities. Depending on perspective, accepting a Shadow might not be replacement but rather change…… or so the reasoning goes.”
The Necromancer giggled, watching my expression.
“Well, I’ll admit this is an extreme ideology even for me. In any case, now I have only one remaining task.”
“What?”
“To ensure the Shadow never reveals its true nature for all eternity.”
The Necromancer emphasized it again.
“For a lifetime. What does it matter that it’s a different being? It can perfectly mimic a living person, after all.”
The Necromancer spoke in an excited tone.
“How about this? Gift a living Undead with a Shadow overlaid to someone who’s lost a lover. A sibling, family, even a beloved dog…… anything at all becomes possible. I’m certain of it. Those same people who screamed that I was mad upon seeing me? I’m confident they’d change their minds upon witnessing such a sight.”
It was only then that I grasped the true nature of the sensation I’d felt upon first meeting the Necromancer.
What this woman harbored was neither murderous intent nor enmity.
Madness.
‘It wasn’t for nothing that Haitan came to mind.’
That peculiar chill, that revulsion—it only radiated from someone whose sanity had shattered through the skull and fled.
If I’d known the Necromancer beforehand and ranked her as a colleague candidate, there would be no question: untouchable, S-tier risk.
“By the way, Kaindel. Have you ever thought about joining the Wild Hunt?”
The sudden proposal drew a hollow laugh from me.
“You want me to join a Marauder clan?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Before I refuse, let me ask: why make such an offer?”
“I think we could get along well. You have the scent of kin about you—that feeling of not caring about the means or methods when it comes to your goals. I think we might make good partners. What do you say?”
What nonsense.
I was about to refuse outright when I thought better and asked instead.
“And if I refuse……?”
“I won’t kill you.”
“Then I refuse.”
“Is that so? What a shame.”
The Necromancer shrugged with an expression that suggested she was hardly disappointed at all.
“Still, there’s a saying that to recruit talent, one should ask at least three times. I’ll aim for the next opportunity.”
I’d been listening absently when I suddenly snapped alert.
“Wait, where did you hear that just now?”
“Pardon?”
The Necromancer looked confused, but I was probably far more startled than she was.
The saying about needing to go to some trouble three times to recruit talent was Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage.
In other words…….
‘Damn it.’
Obviously, an idiom that had no business existing in this world.
In that instant, a chill crawled down my spine.
‘Could it be.’
There’s one of them lurking around the Necromancer?
A Player.
“I’m not sure? Who told me? Maybe I read it somewhere, or one of my companions mentioned it…….”
…….
“I’m sorry. I tend to forget useless information quickly. Oh, and now that I think of it.”
The Necromancer rose from her seat.
“Time’s up. I should be on my way. Oh! I’ve already taken care of all the Undead in the Burial Chamber, so don’t worry about that…… well. If you want to enter the chamber where the Awl Sword is, you’ll need to defeat that Lukbara first.”
The Necromancer tossed off her advice and then raked her eyes over me as she added.
“But at your current level, you’ll just get yourself killed. How about leaving the Royal Tomb with me? You don’t even have to become my colleague. I’d just hate to see someone like you die.”
“……Your kindness is appreciated, but.”
“My goodness, you’re stubborn.”
The Necromancer clicked her tongue and let out a sigh.
“Fine then. I’ll wish you luck~ I hope we meet again!”
The Necromancer departed.
I wondered if there might be a separate escape route, but she simply walked out through the same entrance I’d used.
…….
Her footsteps were so faint that I watched her form until she vanished completely.
Only after I’d confirmed that the Necromancer had entirely disappeared and showed no sign of returning did I finally exhale.
“……Hah.”
My tension nearly collapsed.
I hadn’t shown it, but every muscle in my body ached from maintaining a defensive posture throughout our entire conversation.
‘I owe Rahos an apology.’
That creature was not something I could kill.
Whatever she was thinking, she’d shown me a cordial demeanor—but I couldn’t have sworn she would have worn the same face even if I’d been openly hostile.
‘Wild Hunt.’
The most notorious Marauder faction in Popop.
One thing seemed clear: something had happened to that organization.
What impact that fact would have on me remained to be seen…….
“Gargh, hck, hck, uuughhh……!”
……But now was not the time to dwell on such things.
The Lukbara bound in Iron Chain—or more precisely, the Shadow wearing Lukbara’s skin—began to writhe.
Crack!
The iron chain shattered into fragments.
The straitjacket that had bound his entire body swelled like a balloon before tearing open, revealing the grotesque form within.
‘Insane……’
I knew the Twisted Faerie King Lukbara’s true appearance.
That’s how I could gauge just how warped he’d become, how grotesquely he’d been transformed.
Had he performed Ritual Suicide?
A corpse stitched upon itself, sewn together, subjected to every indignity even in death—the being fixed me with eyes devoid of reason.
[Shadow encounter: “Twisted Faerie King Lukbara.”]
[Mental Corruption Level: 12%]
I suppressed the urge to gag and braced myself to face the Shadow.

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