The Regressed Necromancer Prepares for the Apocalypse - Chapter 20

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

The Necromancer Who Returned: Chapter 20

Do Jin recalled the time before his Regression.
The bitter regret carved into his very bones back then — his own remorse.

— If only humanity had completed the Tutorial properly.
— If only there had been no Betrayers.

But there was one more problem. A single danger that Do Jin himself dreaded to acknowledge.

‘What if Players cannot stop the progression of the Main Scenario?’

Ever since his unforeseen Regression, Do Jin had wrestled with this question without a single day’s reprieve.
How could humanity possibly survive?

“Before the Regression, Players weren’t incompetent. But once we entered the Main Scenario, the system stopped providing clear Quest completion conditions.”

If anything, every Quest in the Main Scenario was about survival.

— Monster waves begin in the Busan Haeundae region for three hours. Survive.
— Clear the Dungeon “Tree Monsters of the Taebaek Mountains” by today. If you fail, a Dungeon Break begins at midnight tonight.

And that was hardly all.
Just when they’d barely adapted to these arbitrary survival Quests, the system announced Phase Two and the difficulty skyrocketed by orders of magnitude.

“So the cowards became Betrayers.”

After barely clearing the Quest to root out those Betrayers, what emerged next was monsters.

“The real problem was them.”

To survive, humanity had to eliminate these monsters before the Quest even finished.
But when those creatures fell, the Mana that poured from their corpses poisoned both sky and earth, rendering the world uninhabitable for humankind.

“Avoiding these monsters altogether — that’s humanity’s only hope. But what if avoidance becomes impossible?”

Do Jin, the sole survivor from before his Regression, could not escape the calculus of worst-case scenarios.

“So then?”

The one thing humanity must secure to guarantee survival is an environment where humans can endure even amid the Mana flooding from the dead monsters.

A Shelter, in other words.
That’s why Do Jin paid such close attention to what he’d heard from the street-level Players that afternoon.
And to the fact that the Arena had “transformed” into a Dungeon once the Main Scenario began.

‘If I could transform the Arena into a Shelter…?’

* * *

— We will serve you with all due reverence!

Whatever misunderstanding had occurred afterward, Do Jin had returned from Hong Jin Gu’s circle having received vows of loyalty—or something resembling it.

‘Hong Jin Gu seems adept at expanding and managing connections among criminals more than leveraging his own raw ability.’

Whether the man would remain loyal to the end was uncertain, but if Hong Jin Gu saw Do Jin flourishing as a Player in society, he would at least harbor no thoughts of betrayal.

— We don’t know about overseas yet, but here in our country, people like us are already forming networks among ourselves.
Yes, I can bring her to the next meeting!

……Everything had to fall into Do Jin’s hands.
To prepare for what was coming, the power of society’s bright side alone wouldn’t suffice.
Do Jin had to secure the power of its shadow as well.
Why?

‘Only then can we stand against them.’

Against the Betrayers, precisely.
Having reached that conclusion, Do Jin took Hae Won and went to meet La Hee.
Of course, he’d already claimed the quest completion reward for himself.

[Mysterious Powder 30g (Garlic Scent) (??)]

Description: An unidentified powder whose ingredients and origin remain unknown. It smells of garlic, but is presumed to not actually be garlic. Do not ingest.
Classification: Consumable
Effect: Unknown

“……Well, it won’t hurt to have it.”

But the effect of Familiar Armament (C) caught his attention even more.

“This should come in handy going forward…… My Familiar and I are linked in series, so my Mana gets temporarily amplified. That’s how it works.”

After Do Jin expressed his satisfaction,
La Hee, having heard the full account from Do Jin, didn’t look particularly pleased.

“Oh, I’m not referring to our new guild member. I mean those trash you ran into after that.”

La Hee had shown warmth and genuine care toward Hae Won.
She’d immediately assessed her condition, arranged for a doctor, and even provided her with quarters in the guild dormitory.
But news of Underworld Players that Do Jin had brought back?
To La Hee, marked as the heir to an international conglomerate, a criminal Player like Hong Jin Gu was nothing but pure harm—not worth associating with in the first place.

“Even if we did glean information about how to exploit the Arena from them, we’d have no use for it. The only reason these criminals abuse the Arena that way is because they can’t find a proper place to hide and commit their crimes.”

Do Jin understood her position completely.
Before the Regression, humanity had ultimately failed to interfere with the System.
When the Main Scenario began, every Arena transformed into a Dungeon, and Players gained the ability to manifest their powers in reality, regardless of their moral standing.
As someone of La Hee’s social rank, she could only see gathering more information about an Arena she couldn’t control as pointless.

‘Besides, as someone who might one day represent this nation, even being associated with criminals would damage her career.’

Yet for Do Jin, who knew the future was essentially doomed, such a choice was nothing but luxury.

‘I need information about every location, every space. Just in case.’

Perhaps even the possibility that Arenas transforming into Dungeons could be converted into Shelters.
A decision that bordered on fantasy at this moment.
And there was yet another reason Do Jin had decided that Underworld Players must be drawn in.

“It’s not merely Arena information. What we truly need to extract from them is information about the criminal organizations themselves—and the Underworld Players behind them.”
“Wait, but why would we need information about Underworld Players in the first place……?”
“Do you truly believe that no Player organizations are being quietly cultivated in secret by governments around the world?”
……”

At those words, La Hee’s expression shifted.
After all, the Test Guild that he and the Han Gang Group had established was fundamentally no different from those organizations.
It wasn’t simply a player collective formed to gather Mana Stones and Gold for profit, but rather one established for purposes beyond that.

“The Test Guild at least revealed itself publicly, but the player collectives that the government and major Underworld organizations cultivate in secret would operate on an entirely different scale. In fact…….”

Precisely because they operated in shadow, they would not hesitate to commit unethical acts, strengthening their players and expanding their influence.
Players were the sole means through which one could extract Mana Stones and Gold—resources that were themselves national interest incarnate.
A world where the caliber and sheer number of players had already become a measure of power.

……

La Hee fell silent for a moment.
When she finally spoke, her words came measured and deliberate.

“……My grandfather and father are already aware of that problem. That’s why they founded the Test Guild in the first place.”
“With respect, I’m afraid that alone is insufficient.”
……!

Until now, Do Jin had always maintained courtesy when speaking with La Hee. There were moments when he’d shown a blunt side, but he had never once overstepped a line.
Yet this time, his resolve was more uncompromising than ever before.

“We must move faster than they do, and we must move first. To achieve that, information is essential.”

Mere defense would not suffice.
A preemptive strike was the best course—the only one that mattered.

“The world has already changed. The existing order will likely lose much of its meaning. Right now, we must actively seize power into our own hands. And we must discover directly what will become poison and what will become gain in the future.”

Do Jin’s jade-green eyes shone with a coldness and hardness unlike any moment before.

‘Only then can I outmaneuver the Betrayers.’

Before the Regression, when the Betrayers appeared, famous players like Kim Su Ho who had emerged prominently in society and garnered public acclaim showed at least some restraint. Whether it was out of concern for public image or something else.
But the Underworld Players harbored no such shame.
So complete was their betrayal of humanity that some even argued it was the sheer number of Betrayers that ultimately drove countless players to seek salvation through defection. The Underworld Players had betrayed mankind almost to a person.
Do Jin’s eyes burned with unshakeable resolve.

‘This time, I will hold their reins.’

So thoroughly that no one dares attempt betrayal.
By becoming a player stronger than any other, so absolutely certain that betraying Do Jin itself amounts to death.
For the Underworld Players—those criminal players for whom strength reigned supreme—that would be the most effective lever of all.

* * *

Persuading La Hee proved no easy task.
And so Do Jin and La Hee came to negotiate.
They would not obstruct the player Do Jin, a guild member of the Test Guild, from individually making contact with criminal players and gathering information from the Arena.
All information obtained this way, and all benefits derived from it, would belong entirely to the player Do Jin.
However, should problems arise from this arrangement, the Test Guild would offer absolutely no support to the player Do Jin.

“Not a bad arrangement.”

As Do Jin flashed a grin, La Hee’s expression twisted with exasperation and she raised her voice.

“Do you understand the situation properly? What you’re saying is that our guild will place all responsibility on you and extract compensation in the bargain!”

Yet Do Jin’s composure remained unshaken.

“Isn’t that the only sensible choice for a corporation? I would have done the same in your position. The risk that accompanies a risky decision should naturally be borne by the one who makes it.”

But Do Jin kept the next words locked behind his teeth.

‘That way I can control every variable.’

He merely smiled, a thin curve of the lips.

“So then, La Hee, shall we go visit Hae Won?”

Do Jin and La Hee’s conversation had taken place in the Test Guild’s office.
Though still a fledgling guild with modest scale, the Test Guild’s office occupied a prime location in Gangnam, a visible proclamation of the silent backing it received from the Han Gang Group’s chairman. The building itself rose a full fifty stories—a gleaming new tower.
And at its crown sat Do Jin’s penthouse.
So where, then, was the Test Guild dormitory that La Hee had arranged for Hae Won?

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