I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 39
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
#Episode 39.
Necromancer Burdkel.
A name I’d encountered before.
I didn’t need to deliberate long to recall its source.
‘Necromancer Burdkel’s Research Journal.’
An item I’d obtained as a clue on the 27th Floor. Even now, it occupied a space in my inventory.
“Hmm.”
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
I’d reviewed the research journal twice already.
The first time, I’d merely skimmed through it, but after subscribing to the Necronomicon channel and learning at least the fundamentals of necromancy, I’d read it quite thoroughly.
‘Clearly, an exceptionally skilled necromancer.’
On a level incomparable to myself, who had only just grasped the basics.
Indeed, I need only recall the undead I’d faced on the 27th Floor to confirm this.
My superior skill merely obscured how formidable those undead truly were—they possessed the overwhelming power to dominate most climbers of the 27th Floor’s caliber.
Anyone capable of creating such undead could only be an exceptionally skilled necromancer.
―Perhaps there could be swarms of those undead I faced on the 27th Floor down here.
As if reading my thoughts, Onyx spoke to me.
I nodded slightly in response.
“That’s possible, but I doubt the numbers would be overwhelming.”
―Is that so?
“Why would he create so many and concentrate them all in the Basement? He’s already stationed several higher up.”
Given its completeness, this Mansion was likely modeled after a place that actually existed.
The deployed monsters and such would probably mirror the original as well.
“My best guess is a mix of lower-tier undead alongside one or two powerful specimens.”
―Hmm. That’s certainly the orthodox structure. Necromancers by nature prefer quantity over quality.
“You know I’ve already set foot into necromancy myself, right?”
―…I wasn’t referring to you, Master.
“I was joking.”
I wrapped up my conversation with Onyx and turned my attention to the skeleton sorcerer standing behind me—Kuhuelt.
“Kuhuelt. Maintain the same distance from me as you do now and follow along.”
Clack!
Kuhuelt immediately clicked his jaw in acknowledgment.
I loosened my body lightly and began descending the Staircase slowly.
Thud, thud―
With each step, my footfalls echoed through the air. The Mansion was so deathly silent that every sound seemed magnified.
Before long, I reached the bottom of the Staircase and pushed open the door ahead.
Creak―.
The door swung backward with the groan of aged hinges.
I grimaced as dust billowed up toward me.
The Corridor above hadn’t been in pristine condition either, but at least the windows there were open, allowing for decent air circulation.
However, a stale, musty odor wafted through the open doorway.
Along with it came a faint metallic stench.
I stepped forward.
I moved slowly into that space.
Of course, I had already prepared a means to secure my vision.
A magical torch ignited with a whoosh.
It was a magical torch, to be precise.
The torch, which burned continuously using mana stones as fuel, illuminated the surroundings brilliantly.
I had prepared it separately, thinking there was no need to rely on subscriptions for such trivial matters.
―Surprisingly, the interior condition is intact, Master.
At Onyx’s words, I nodded slightly.
True to his words, the Corridor beyond the door was in remarkably good condition.
Though dust had accumulated from prolonged neglect, there were no cracks or breaks like in the upper floors.
I moved slowly deeper inside.
The Corridor was quite spacious—wide enough for three people to walk side by side. I paused briefly to recall the size of the undead I’d faced, then assessed the Corridor’s dimensions.
‘At this width, even the undead I fought on the 27th Floor could move about comfortably.’
Since enemies could emerge at any moment and place, I continued forward while maintaining constant vigilance.
After advancing for some time.
―There’s a door ahead, Master.
Onyx warned me first.
Sure enough, I could see a door attached to one side of the Corridor ahead.
Actually, to be precise, there wasn’t just one door.
Doors lined both sides of the Corridor at regular intervals.
“Hmm.”
No matter how I looked at it, they didn’t appear to be merely hanging there.
“Prepare a binding spell. Don’t use it until I give the order.”
I tapped my foot.
I issued the command to Kuhuelt, then approached the nearest door first.
Upon reaching it, I kicked the door open without hesitation.
The door flew off with a loud crash.
Until now, I had hesitated to make noise, but it no longer mattered. I had already sensed something upon approaching the door.
A thick death aura permeated the Corridor ahead.
What that signified was singular.
“Grrrrr.”
Undead.
Through the open doorway, I saw dozens of eyes gleaming with spectral light.
In that brief moment, I confirmed the appearance of my enemies.
As expected, they were undead.
However, they were not the overwhelming undead I had faced on the 27th Floor.
However, they weren’t nearly as overwhelmingly powerful undead as the ones he had faced on the 27th Floor.
If I had to describe them, they were somewhat modified zombies.
Though some of them had abnormally swollen muscles scattered throughout, the aura they emanated was nowhere near the level of those I’d faced before.
Whoosh!
I rushed in quickly and swung my blade.
Crack!
The head of the undead at the very front flew through the air from the force of my swing.
But that was merely the beginning.
Slash!
With each swing of my sword, the undead’s heads and limbs separated from their bodies.
“Grraaaaaaah!”
The undead belatedly opened their mouths wide and reached out their arms, but their sluggish movements couldn’t stop me.
Crunch!
Thus, before even a minute had passed, all eighteen undead in the room had returned to corpses.
However, I was acutely aware that this was only the beginning.
Creak—.
Sure enough, not long after I’d disposed of the undead, the sound of hinges echoed repeatedly from the corridor.
If the door hadn’t opened on its own, it meant someone had opened it and come through.
Rather than venture outside to confirm it, I simply took a short breath where I stood.
“Grraaaaaaah!”
Soon, a terrible cry erupted, and undead began pouring in from the corridor.
The moment I saw them, I spoke.
“Bind the ones at the front! Keep going!”
At my command, Kuhuelt unhesitatingly thrust his staff forward.
Crunch crunch crunch!
Black thorny vines erupted from the empty ground, binding several undead that were just entering through the door.
The undead writhed as if trying to escape, but the bindings were quite sturdy.
Of course, if left alone, they would eventually break free. The ones pushing from behind kept pressing forward.
“Perfect.”
But it didn’t matter.
All I wanted was to create the exact formation I desired.
“Hah.”
Taking a short breath, I infused mana into my blade and rushed toward the door.
Crackle crackle!
My sword, crackling with lightning, cut down the undead bound before the door.
The undead trembled violently as I severed their necks completely.
It couldn’t be otherwise.
The lightning dwelling in my blade was no ordinary lightning—it was holy lightning.
That undead and holiness are fundamentally incompatible is basic knowledge.
“Grraaagh!”
Rather than swinging my blade violently as before, I used the already limp undead as a shield and shallowly pierced those beyond it.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been nothing more than a surface wound, but the undead couldn’t withstand it and crumbled instantly.
Crack!
In that moment, Kuhuelt’s binding spell finally gave way to the pressure mounting from behind, but another restraint incantation unfolded immediately after.
It could only hold for roughly ten-odd seconds at most, but that alone was devastatingly effective.
Crunch, crunch-crunch!
The undead kept surging from behind without pause, while the front remained sealed shut—those caught in between couldn’t endure the mounting pressure.
Any that seemed to be holding out, I dispatched immediately.
“Hold on a moment!”
Once I judged enough had been eliminated, I’d command the spell to release, and the bound corpses would come tumbling down in a heap.
“Grraahhh!”
Then, as fresh ones began appearing again?
“Binding spell!”
I’d simply repeat the same process. It was a tactic as simple as it was devastatingly effective.
It was obvious, but truthfully, I could have handled the undead without resorting to such tactics at all.
Yet being human, there was no avoiding the drain on my stamina.
I hadn’t even laid eyes on the Necromancer yet—wasting my strength now would be foolish.
So I devised this tactic to eliminate them as efficiently as possible.
Thanks to it, I managed to dispatch nearly a hundred undead without expending excessive effort.
Even after clearing that many, seeing them still trudging forward did grow tiresome.
“Grraahhh!”
But then, at some point, the flood of undead suddenly dwindled dramatically.
Or more precisely, the undead had turned and fled.
To assess the situation, I quickly dispatched the undead blocking the doorway and peered into the Corridor.
There, in the distance, I could see the undead rushing in the opposite direction.
Slash!
I brought my blade down on the last remaining undead, muttering to myself.
“The Necromancer’s doing.”
Unless the undead had suddenly grown intelligent enough to warrant a tactical retreat, this seemed the most likely explanation.
After a moment’s consideration, I decided not to pursue them hastily.
Not out of exhaustion or anything like that—it was a matter of practicality.
‘I need to thoroughly loot this place before moving on.’
There was no reason not to claim what was available.
I quickly disposed of the remaining undead, then advanced along the Corridor, methodically checking each open door.
“Oh. Bones.”
And I found several useful items.
Nothing resembling treasure, but there were quite a few materials the Necromancer would need.
These materials—bones and some unidentifiable blood-like substances—were ghastly, but I didn’t hesitate to sweep them all into my inventory.
If I hadn’t already made my choice, perhaps I’d have second thoughts, but I’d steeled myself for this much the moment I selected the Necronomicon.
“Heh, with this much, I won’t have any shortage of practice materials for a while.”
Or perhaps I was simply delighted at the abundance of materials.
In any case, I advanced carefully, thoroughly searching my surroundings rather than rushing forward.
And the Corridor that seemed endless finally began to show its end.
―Quite spacious, isn’t it.
Onyx spoke, gazing ahead.
True to his words, a fairly expansive space unfolded at the end of the Corridor.
I fixed my gaze upon it and spoke.
“It feels somewhat similar to where you used to stay?”
―What? How in the world is it similar!
“How is it?”
―…Master!
At Onyx’s reaction, I let out a soft chuckle and continued.
“The Altar, and those suspicious drawings on the floor. The strange decorations hanging on the walls?”
―Completely different! Not a single thing is the same! The temple of this body and such a filthy necromancer’s Altar are on entirely different levels!
“Sure, sure. I understand.”
I answered casually while heading toward where the Altar stood.
Naturally, that vast space was not empty.
First, the undead that had fled in a panic earlier were lined up on both sides of the Altar. But what truly drew my attention was something else.
It was the figure standing before the Altar.
He stood facing the Altar, draped in a deep black robe.
“You’ve come….”
The moment I stepped into the vast space, he slowly turned his body and spoke.
A pallid complexion. An emaciated frame. Yet eyes that gleamed with sharp brilliance.
I directed a question toward him.
“Necromancer Burdkel?”
“Indeed.”
Necromancer Burdkel raised one skeletal arm and spoke.
“I won’t bother asking your name.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble―!
At the same moment, the ground behind the Altar trembled violently.
“You’ll be dead soon anyway.”
I watched as an enormous form erupted through the earth with a deafening roar.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————