The Martial God Becomes a Necromancer and Conquers the Tower - Chapter 38

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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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Chapter 38
38
“And four of them came in at the same time, didn’t they? That’s a strategy. When people come in with a plan, you have to respond with a plan.”
I smiled faintly and continued.
“The boss sits squarely on the Throne Palanquin, and roughly a hundred corpses are lined up on both sides of the corridor. Anyone can see it’s a trap. Yet they came in anyway? Then the outcome is their responsibility.”
-Sireong really sounds like a psychopath lmaooooo
-but ngl he’s got a point
-they walked in knowing it was a trap
-Sireong sitting on the Throne Palanquin with that smile that says “you may enter”
-human spider web Sireong supreme
-Sireong scares me……
-caught myself accidentally chanting “welcome to this trap” hahahaha
“So you guys all recognized that reference?”
I glanced at the chat window, my tone carrying a note of mild surprise.
Huh. More people recognized it than I expected.
-Sireong that’s such a famous meme
-nobody in Korea doesn’t know that game screenshot
-everyone claps every time Sireong does that
-grandpa! stand up!? the buddy duo screenshot
-this guy really knows his old game references
Oh. I see.
I was reincarnated twenty-eight years ago, and the original of that screenshot seemed to be about fifty years old.
These humans apparently know their old memes pretty well after all.
“Well. Anyway.”
I rose slowly from the Throne Palanquin and looked down toward the explosion site.
The center of the Labyrinth corridor had been obliterated entirely, creating a hellish tableau of flesh and gore.
The ceiling had been ripped away, and the floor had collapsed in patches.
Scattered across it all were fragments of flesh, bone, and blood.
Hundreds upon hundreds of corpses had just detonated, reducing the four intruders to pulp in an instant.
In truth, Corpse Explosion doesn’t usually reach this scale.
Why not?
Because Sireong Magic runs out.
Using the skill requires Sireong Magic, and a Level 20 Necromancer can detonate about thirty corpses before their Sireong Magic completely drains.
Though even if those thirty had exploded simultaneously, I’d say those bastards would be dead.
Corpse Explosion is plenty strong.
But I have an overflow of Sireong Magic because of the Necron Ossuary, you see.
So hundreds of corpses detonated in one go!
That’s how I finished them in one crushing stroke.
“Mm.”
I flicked my fingers lightly.
The undead shambling corpses that had been carrying the palanquin began methodically gathering up the body fragments.
Ah, all of this is a resource, after all.
Even if it’s been reduced to garbage like this, we need to recycle it however we can.
In the meantime.
Among the scattered remains, the corpse fragments of the dead Hunters began to break down into light.
Originally, when an Awakener dies, the Dimension Tower retrieves the corpse after a certain time.
It dissolves into light and vanishes.
This is a basic system of the Dimension Tower.
If an Awakener’s corpse remained intact, it would cause post-mortem disputes and identity issues, so the Dimension Tower handles the cleanup automatically and neatly.
Of course, some Hunters have the corpse recovery refusal option enabled by their own choice.
Usually when they want to leave some final farewell with their comrades.
But for the four intruders who died here and now.
No such option had been activated, naturally.
Fwoom.
I watched as the hem of a black coat scattered into light.
The massive stone lump of the subordinate whose body had remained intact in petrified form dissolved into light as well.
The remains of the other three scattered in fragments of flesh, becoming motes of light that vanished toward the Labyrinth ceiling.
Their equipment did remain behind, but it had all been caught in the explosion and lay in ruins.
Like this, truly nothing remained.
No spoils of war.
“Sigh……”
I exhaled softly and leaned back against the Throne Palanquin once more.
Meanwhile, my undead were busy picking through the rubble and stuffing it into the shadow.
This is really…… a significant loss.
-The corpses are disappearing
-Awakeners get collected by the Dimension Tower when they die, so there’s nothing we can do
-So Sireong doesn’t even get to loot anything??
-Isn’t this a straight loss for Sireong alone
-Can’t we salvage something before the bodies vanish? Pick up anything we can
-The corpses are all destroyed, there’s nothing to pick up ㅠㅠ
-Clear the Labyrinth empty-handed
“Tell me about it. We went this far to be safe, and now I’m out resources.”
I muttered quietly, still reclined against the Throne Palanquin.
I’d been keeping up with Dimension Tower content for a while, so I already knew that Awakener corpses get collected as light.
It’s not that I had no interest in Necromancy—it’s just that I’d been absorbing all the other Dimension Tower content religiously.
This much I obviously had to know.
Still, the sense of waste only kept growing.
Invaders operating at the squad level would definitely have been carrying good equipment.
Ugh.
A sigh escaped me.
Should I randomize the second floor again and hunt for a stage with enough corpses to farm properly?
Well, I’ll think about that after I clear the Labyrinth.
For now, I need to finish breaking through this Labyrinth cleanly.
“You lot, get back in the palanquin. Heuk-gang, Baek-gang. Let’s move.”
I gave up on collecting the scattered corpse fragments.
When would I ever finish gathering all this?
Sighing heavily, I pressed forward through the Labyrinth.
* * *
Do you all know what treasure chests are?
In dungeons and labyrinths like this.
Strangely enough.
These places are packed with traps meant to kill people.
Yet simultaneously, there’s this deranged aesthetic sense that scatters treasure chests everywhere.
‘I came here to kill people, but I suppose they deserve some reward before they perish’ — is that the mindset?
In any case, this treasure chest custom seems to persist identically in games and real Dimension Towers alike.
And right now, before my eyes.
A treasure chest sat plainly displayed.
At a corner of the Labyrinth corridor.
An old wooden chest gleamed faintly in the gloomy torchlight.
And there wasn’t even a lock on it.
“Oh. Isn’t that a treasure chest?”
I rose lightly from the Throne Palanquin and pointed.
-A treasure chest appeared!
-The true charm of the Labyrinth!
-Sireong open it quick!
-My heart’s racing—what could be inside
-Please let it be something good please
-Second floor treasure chests usually have average drops
-Still, we can’t just leave it unopened lol
“True. It’s a bit contradictory to put treasure in a place designed to kill people, but then again, that’s just how the Labyrinth is.”
I stepped down slowly from the Throne Palanquin and stood before the treasure chest.
Up close, it looked even more classically made.
Iron bands ringed the edges, and the lid had a small latch—though it hung unlocked.
I’d heard that treasure chests in labyrinths like this typically open without any traps.
Of course, the occasional freak Mimic does jump out……
But this doesn’t seem to be one of those.
“Let’s open it.”
I lifted the lid lightly.
Whoosh.
A pale blue light shot up from inside the chest, and a single object rose slowly into view.
A massive rectangular shield.
Black steel, studded across its face with runes that glowed a deep blue.
I reached out and took it in my hands.
[Shield of Protection]
Grade: Special
A rectangular shield forged from reinforced alloy.
Effect: Physical Defense +25%
Effect: Magic Resistance +15%
Effect: Guard
“Huh. A Special Grade item?”
I turned the shield over in my hands, studying it from every angle.
-Special Grade!
-Pretty decent loot for a 2nd Floor treasure chest
-2nd Floor usually only drops Common Grade, doesn’t it?
-Special Grade has decent market value
-Sireong’s got lucky this time
-Since the average from 2nd Floor chests is Common, even getting Special is a god-tier pull
“Yeah, I know. It’s not a bad item. And yeah, I know it’ll sell for decent money.”
I hefted the shield lightly and continued speaking.
“But it’s useless for me, personally.”
Who am I?
A martial master whose true art is turning aside an enemy’s strikes with decades of perfected technique.
A warrior who fights with a shield in the Gangho is actually quite rare.
Most favor the sword, the saber, fist techniques, staff, or spear.
Shields are typically the equipment of soldiers or palace guards—not the standard gear of an elite master.
“Can you imagine me fighting with a shield? Can you picture an emperor wielding one and swinging it about?”
-Yeah, point taken lol
-Sireong with a shield just doesn’t fit
-First time seeing a martial master with a shield
-Sireong sitting on the Throne Palanquin barking orders—that’s the image
-Give the shield to Heuk-gang and Baek-gang
-Actually putting a shield in corpse hands doesn’t look right either
“So for now, I’ll stash it in the Sub-dimension. I’ll put it up at the market later.”
I tossed the shield into the Sub-dimension.
“Alright. Shall we keep moving?”
I climbed back onto the Throne Palanquin and settled into place.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The palanquin procession pressed forward again, ponderous and steady, deeper into the Labyrinth.
After that, we moved forward swiftly and without pause.
Whenever a trap appeared, Heuk-gang and Baek-gang either blocked it with their bodies or we simply bypassed the broken sections.
Whenever a treasure chest appeared, I opened it and tossed the contents into the Sub-dimension.
We continued forward along the Labyrinth’s corridors for some time.
Subjectively, it felt like we’d been traveling for two or three hours.
“This is the 2nd Floor—why is it so long?”
I let out a soft sigh from where I sat on the Throne Palanquin.
“Next time I’ll pack some food. I’m getting hungry.”
-Sireong’s hungry lol
-Super Rookie unpacking a lunch box on the 2nd Floor
-Our Sireong needs proper meals
-Oh no, if Sireong goes hungry that’s bad 🙁
-Lunch box content for the next broadcast?
As I listened to the viewers fussing over me, we continued walking for quite some time longer.
And then, at last.
A deep, resonant hum.
A colossal gate materialized at the end of the narrow corridor.
Its height stretched to nearly ten meters.
Its width was more than sufficient for the palanquin procession to pass through.
The gate’s surface was carved with ominous runic script, and set into its center was an enormous sculpture of a beast’s head.
It was the kind of sight that left no doubt in anyone’s mind.
“Ah. The Boss Room.”
-The Boss Room is up!
-The boss finally appears!
-What’s the final boss of the second floor Labyrinth?
-Is Sireong going to catch the boss with a trap too?
-Please let it be an interesting boss…….
-Sireong, let’s go!
I rolled my shoulders lightly from the Throne Palanquin and opened my mouth.
“Well then. Shall we take a look?”
Rumble…
The massive doors began to swing open slowly, left and right.
Through the gap, the dark interior of the Boss Room came into view.
The Throne Palanquin lumbered forward into it.

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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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