The Regressed Necromancer Prepares for the Apocalypse - Chapter 21

—————
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 Prepares for the End – Episode 21

“Ah, hello there…….”

The Test Guild’s dormitory occupied the entire twenty-fifth floor of the building—a sprawling expanse reserved exclusively for its residents.
And Hae Won was the first guild member to move in.
The room itself was nothing extravagant: a studio layout with a compact kitchenette and small bathroom, roughly two hundred and thirty square feet.
Yet to Hae Won, who had suffered under grinding poverty her entire life, it felt like a palace.
In her present state—cowed, shoulders hunched—she bore little resemblance to the Grand Mage who, before her return, had dealt death to monsters and traitors alike without hesitation.
Only rarely—

‘A flash of poison in her eyes.’

The weight of her past—beatings and neglect from her parents, years of relentless poverty, and the mounting pressure and resentment of adults who resented her for having awakened—all of it surfaced only sporadically, in brief, bitter moments.

‘Before the return, thugs would have dragged her away, and that poison would have grown far more vicious and cruel.’

The dormitory on the twenty-fifth floor was structured so that each guild member had a private room, while common spaces—a dining area and lounge—were shared like a cooperative house.
Which was why Do Jin, Ra Hui, and Hae Won now sat together on the lounge sofa, studying one another.
Hae Won’s eyes were glazed, her expression struggling to comprehend the moment unfolding before her.

“Is what you just said……really true? I don’t have to see those people anymore?”

By “those people,” Hae Won primarily meant the loan sharks.
But Do Jin could detect something else woven into her words—a second name hidden beneath the surface.
Her father.

‘How old is Hae Won now? Seventeen, wasn’t it?’

Eight years ago, she would have been in high school.
Yet simply because she had awakened as a Player, she had been forced into the Arena, made to earn money on her family’s behalf.

‘By the time I met her before the return, she had already seen things the underworld had no business showing a child.’

He had barely managed to keep her from crossing over into organized crime.
But there was no doubt she had already endured unspeakable suffering beneath a drunken father.

‘Probably no one will believe it. Neither me nor Ra Hui.’

Ra Hui, having spoken with Hae Won briefly as guild leader, turned to Do Jin.

“The kid’s very withdrawn. You could say she’s wound tight as a spring……well, in any case, she’s completed her guild registration as you recommended.”

So the rest is your responsibility!
Ra Hui, whose mind was already cluttered with concerns about underworld Players, fixed Do Jin with a sharp, determined look in her eyes.
Do Jin met that gaze with an easy, good-natured smile and opened his mouth.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Guild Leader. I’m certain Hae Won will exceed your expectations.”

* * *

“…….”

Hae Won stood alone in her dormitory room, motionless.
She gazed blankly around the space, then down at the clothes she was wearing.
For the first time, she wore clean, new garments—not hand-me-downs, not castoffs from others, but clothes fresh and unblemished.

Thump.
Hae Won collapsed onto the bed, her lean frame sinking into the plush new mattress, which cradled her gently.

‘It all feels like a lie.’

That was what Hae Won felt standing before all this change.
A lie, a dream, or perhaps just another trick by the adults.
How many times had the adults deceived her before?

‘That father of mine, forcing me into the Arena with “just this once,” laughing that I shouldn’t worry about money. The loan shark grinning the same way. And…….’

Mother.
The mother who never came home.
It was then.
Ding!

“……!”

Hae Won’s phone suddenly chimed with a message notification.
Her two eyes—one gleaming red, the other blue—snapped toward the screen, pupils darting across the text.

– Hey, found a decent Arena slot opening up
– You coming?

The sender was someone Hae Won had known for a while.
Not a friend, exactly—just some delinquent she’d gotten tangled up with by chance.

– Awakening Bureau hasn’t rolled out raids yet.
– So what’ll it be?

Hae Won knew well enough that people like this couldn’t be trusted.

“…….”

Yet there was no choice.
Or rather—the people who drew near to her were no different from these types.

– I’ll go.

Her face remained utterly expressionless as she typed the reply.
Creak.
In moments, she threw on a light coat and shuffled out of the building, footsteps hollow against the floor.
Unaware that someone was watching her disappear into the distance.

“…….”

* * *

– Are you sure about this?

Ra Hui’s voice came through Do Jin’s earphone, laden with layered meaning.
Can you really trust this child Hae Won? Is she truly worth the investment? And can Do Jin truly manage his entire schedule for the day? And so on.

“Don’t worry. I’ll just keep watch over Hae Won, and then log into the Under Arena.”
– But didn’t you already log in this morning……?

Each Arena allows one login per theme per day.
From a Player’s perspective, this meant that as long as one had the time and magical stamina, they could log into two or more different Arenas in a single day.
Yet no Player existed who actually attempted to log into two, three Arenas in one day and clear their quests.
It was more profitable to prepare thoroughly, then clear a quest properly in an Arena with better Mana Stone and Gold rewards.
Of course, those popular Arenas drew so many Players that the civil servants dispatched by the Awakening Bureau would filter login restrictions—but that was how it worked.

– Where on earth is that kid heading off to?
“Obvious, isn’t it?”

Do Jin spoke with Ra Hui through the communicator from her office, a bitter smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

“A young Player with potential but no proper adult protection, left to fend for herself—trouble finds her like flies. Especially one desperate for money.”
– ……?

This was also Do Jin’s own experience from before the regression.

‘Back then, I lived hand-to-mouth too…… I didn’t even know what proper Player support existed, or how to get it.’

It was also a hard truth of the present reality—only two years had passed since the Great Upheaval.
Sudden upheaval, unstable power dynamics, the vast flow of wealth, and the political and institutional upheaval that followed.
In a world that might even overturn international order and the superiority of nations, the entire globe was buried under a deluge of rumors and false news.
And countless Players had fallen into the underworld in the process.

“If I hadn’t been lucky enough to learn about Awakening Bureau officials right after my Awakening, I wouldn’t be much different from Hae Won.”
– You’re saying the system still has that many gaps?
“Korea’s in relatively better shape, I’ll grant you that.”

Do Jin was right. Whether it was the nation’s impatient temperament or the fact that resources had been scarce until Mana Stones and Gold appeared—their eyes went wild at this supreme bounty.
Korea was among the faster nations to adapt and reform its systems in response to the Great Upheaval.

“Over thirty percent of the world still doesn’t have an Awakening Bureau installed.”
– …….

Through the communicator, Ra Hui’s sigh reached his ears.

‘Well, complaining about it gets you nowhere.’

The first year after the Great Upheaval had thrown Korea into complete chaos, and it took another full year before the Awakening Bureau was finally established.
Even so, all it really did was register Players and manage Arenas.

‘But that Arena business is where the worst Player conflicts happen, so I guess it can’t be helped.’

Arenas had strict limits on daily login counts and the number of users allowed in at once.

‘And the Awakening Bureau still hasn’t identified all the Arenas within the country.’

For instance.
Arenas that Players had discovered first, then kept to themselves without reporting to the Awakening Bureau or streaming them online—keeping all the rewards for their own group.

“So here’s the thing, Ra Hui…”
– ……What?

Ra Hui tensed as Do Jin’s tone subtly shifted.

“These unregistered Arenas—Han River Group could snap them up without much trouble, couldn’t they?”
– ……?!?!

The communicator fell silent for a moment, as if frozen.
What was so shocking about that?
She’d grown up soft, it seemed—ignorant of how the world actually worked.

‘Well, what can I do?’

In three years it would all vanish anyway.
Before then, I might as well lay it out for her myself.

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