The Regressed Necromancer Prepares for the Apocalypse - Chapter 15

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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 Necromancer Who Returned Prepares for the End — Episode 15

– What’ll come out of the next Under Arena?

Do Jin’s streaming viewership showed no signs of cooling.
It was the unique and incomparable Necromancer class that fanned the flames.
But more than anything, it was the sheer force of Do Jin’s presence — a Player who dared to challenge the Under Arena when no one else logged in, and cleared it without breaking a sweat.

– Under Arena is great because monsters actually spawn lol
– But why haven’t other Players gone there yet?
– Absolutely won’t go lol if you fail your level drops and you take a loss, would you go if you were them?
– If you fail to Clear… haha you know right?
– By the way, the system’s supposed to kick off the Preliminaries soon, did you hear?

Against that tide, a new topic had begun spreading quietly through the chat — whispers at first, then louder.
Perhaps some Players, sensing the tide turning against them, were deliberately amplifying the rumor.

“Are you really going to participate?”

Ra Hee spoke to Do Jin, who was also watching the chat.

“That’s not something you can participate in just because you want to. The Preliminaries will filter out every mediocrity out there. Just look at the average level of Players who’ve competed so far……”

Ra Hee trailed off, pressing her fingers to her temples as if stricken by a headache.

“At minimum, you need to be B-rank just to log into the Preliminary Arena. And we’ve got half a year left — that’s it.”

With those words, Ra Hee fixed Do Jin with eyes sharp as frost. Her gaze spoke plainly.
Become a B-rank Player in mere half a year? Impossible.

“Convince me in five minutes that what you’re saying isn’t nonsense.”

Most would have wilted under Ra Hee’s cutting gaze. But Do Jin remained unmoved.

“Well, for now I’m D-rank.”
“…Sigh……”

Ra Hee felt the sighs multiplying ever since she’d gotten tangled up with this man, and she pressed her fingers to her temples again.
And yet — Do Jin spoke the truth.
If a Player who’d Awakened less than a week ago had shot up to D-rank in a single leap…
Was reaching B-rank in half a year truly impossible?

“You’re serious about this?”
“I’m always serious, Ra Hee.”

The Players’ World Cup. Their Olympics. A hunting tournament held once a year for high-rank Players.
A survival game where the last Player standing claims all the spoils as champion.

The Hunter Cup.

Do Jin smiled — that familiar, easy, self-assured grin.

“You row while the tide comes in. We’re riding high right now — would you really dodge a spectacle like this?”
“Sigh……”

Ra Hee exhaled again. As if she didn’t already know?
Yet still, she had her reasons for objecting.

“But right now, Do Jin, your reputation is good precisely because of that unique Class, and because of logging into the Under Arena. You understand what that means?”

Once the masses have tasted such intense dopamine, can they ever return to what came before?
When a Player who has racked up victory after victory, dazzling the crowds with spectacular performances, suddenly shows even slightly mediocre results, how will the public treat him?
The fickle viewers of his Streaming will, for the most part, turn away.

“If you keep Clearing the Under Arena like this, you might just meet the participation requirements before the Hunter Cup finals begin.”

Ra Hee sighed before adding,

“Barely, though.”

The Hunter Cup — a global event where Players from around the world can participate simultaneously.
This was possible because, during the Hunter Cup period, every Arena in the world transforms into a Hunter Cup stadium.
The same Quest is issued across all Arenas.
What could that mean?
It meant that every elite, top-tier Player across the globe would converge on the Hunter Cup.
All chasing the staggering rewards offered to the Hunter Cup champion.

“You understand, don’t you? Right now, Do Jin is the only guild member of the Test Guild.”

This meant Do Jin’s reputation and accomplishments were inseparably tied to the Test Guild’s own standing.
If Do Jin were to commit any disgrace, that mudslinging would inevitably splash back onto the Test Guild, still a fledgling organization.

“Conversely, if I perform well, that prestige will also reflect on the Test Guild.”
“…….”

Despite Ra Hee’s repeated warnings, Do Jin’s expression remained serene and self-assured.

“……Do you have the confidence for that?”
“High risk, high reward — isn’t that how it goes?”

Do Jin closed the chat window. Already, people were debating furiously about the Hunter Cup, which would begin six months from now.
There was no reason to miss that stage.
Especially when he considered what particularly appetizing prey would be taking the field there.

“From now on, I’ll focus on preparing for the preliminaries.”
“……You mean the Under Arena?”

While Ra Hee’s face twisted slightly with concern,
Do Jin’s remained entirely unchanged from his usual expression.

“Of course. But, Ra Hee…….”

Abruptly, Do Jin began to steer the conversation in a completely different direction from what they’d been discussing.

“I’d like to recommend a certain Player to you. Would you be willing to hear me out?”

* * *

The age at which Players undergo Awakening varies widely. Most occur between the early twenties and late thirties, though occasionally someone awakens in their teens.
The Player Do Jin was about to meet was precisely such a case.

– I know such cases happen sometimes. The rookies who placed second and third at the Arena where you debuted were like that, weren’t they?

Since becoming a Player means earning Magical Stones and Gold in the Arena,
most families spare no expense in supporting their children’s Player training once they’ve awakened.

“But early Player Awakening isn’t necessarily a blessing.”
– ……That doesn’t sound like good news.

Do Jin found himself in full agreement with Ra Hee’s words flowing through the earpiece.
A minor who’d undergone Awakening in an environment where the guardian was the problem—

‘They become nothing but tools for adults to make money off.’

Do Jin passed through familiar sights one after another. This wasn’t where he’d lived, but the Poor neighborhood looked the same wherever you went.
Soon his footsteps halted. It was the house at the address he’d investigated before visiting this neighborhood.
A rusted, shabby gate with no maintenance done to it whatsoever.

…….

He pressed the bell, but no sound came. It had been broken for a long time.
What he heard instead was—

“You damn brat! Get me some alcohol!!!”

Crash!
Smack!

……!

Sounds so vivid they painted the scene clearly before his eyes.
Simultaneously, low sounds came hurriedly from the neighboring house.

Thud!
Clunk!
Whoosh!
The sounds of a door slamming shut, curtains drawn closed.
Sounds of turning away that were far too familiar.
This scene had likely repeated itself many times already.

…….

Do Jin searched through his memories from before the return.

– Well, what kind of parents would a problem child come from?
– Mom ran off with another man, Dad was an alcoholic…… if I had to name one good thing about this broken world, it’s that I don’t have to see their faces anymore~

Then a sound came from inside the gate.
Bang! Crash!

“That damned brat! Get over here……!”

Clunk!
The aged gate swung open roughly.
And what appeared was—

“Ah!”

A girl with short-cropped hair, a skeletal frame, and a face bruised and cut as though she’d been beaten. Her small body, hardly believable for seventeen years old, came stumbling out of the doorway—

and collided hard with Do Jin, crashing down noisily.

…….

No—Do Jin caught her before she could hit the ground.
Of course, because of that, the expensive suit he’d worn today, so different from his usual attire, became stained and smudged with the girl’s blood.

“Well, well, you little brat. Lucky timing. Today I’m gonna……?”

A man stumbled out of the house before stopping short.
Filthy clothes caked with grime, unkempt hair and stubble, the reek of alcohol sharp enough to sting even in broad daylight.
And in one hand, a cudgel smeared with blood.
Do Jin recognized him immediately.
This troublemaker before him was the father of the girl he’d come to meet—her only blood relative, her sole guardian.

‘Better to end this cleanly.’

Do Jin unleashed his killing intent toward the wretch before him.
And the killing intent emanating from Do Jin, who had crossed countless death-lines before his regression, was absolutely not something a mere civilian—let alone a drunken derelict—could endure.

“Ack……! Guh……!”

Overwhelmed by the sudden, unbearable pressure, the man collapsed to the ground foaming at the mouth before even a minute had passed.

“Gurgle…….”
“Wha……?”

Startled by the unexpected turn of events, the girl could only stammer, alternating her gaze between her father writhing on the floor and the strange man before her.
Seeing her confusion, Do Jin spoke with measured calm.

“Dear me, does he perhaps suffer from epilepsy? If there’s no medicine in the house, shall I call an ambulance for him?”

Without waiting for the girl’s response, he began making calls on his smartphone.
He’d told the girl he was contacting a hospital, but the number he actually dialed was not to a hospital at all.

“Yes, Ra Hee. I need an ambulance sent to this location. Yes, and for what comes next, you can proceed as I mentioned.”

In truth, Do Jin had already arranged everything with Ra Hee before coming to this house.
He’d asked her to have the girl’s father admitted to a sanatorium far away under the pretense of treatment—a long-term stay.
And the matter proceeded with startling efficiency.

…….

With her wounds treated, the girl stood motionless, staring blankly at the receding ambulance, a bandage now covering the gash on her forehead.

“Hello there, student.”
……!

Do Jin spoke to her as gently as he could.
Yet even at just those words, the girl flinched as though struck, her body shrinking inward.

…….

Watching her, Do Jin’s expression grew bitter and sad.
If only he’d been able to come even a day sooner.

“Would it be alright if we didn’t stay here? Could we go somewhere else to talk?”

Awkward as it felt, Do Jin tried his best to speak gently.
Once the world’s strongest mage before his regression, now nothing but a pitiful, abused girl—his former comrade.
Seo Hae Won. He was welcoming her into his circle anew.

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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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