The Regressed Necromancer Prepares for the Apocalypse - Chapter 22

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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 22

— Listen, Lee Do-jin. You’re going to give me a heart attack with that kind of joke.
“Hmm? Looks like we’ve arrived.”

It was the kind of remark he’d tossed out lightly, almost in jest.
But beneath the surface, there was nothing light about it.

‘There are plenty of arenas, but government staff are limited. Realistically, each guild has no choice but to own and manage some of them.’

The situation was already dire—some awakened civil servants had resigned and become players, throwing themselves into making money, leaving administrative personnel critically understaffed.
If the arena that Hae Won-i was heading toward wasn’t even registered with the Awakening Ministry, and could yield massive Mana Stones and gold?
For the Han River Group and Test Guild, it would be like striking gold.

“There it is.”

Past a sprawling parking lot packed densely with vehicles,
Hae Won-i, who had been keeping her distance and following behind, came to a stop before an unremarkable arena facility.
It looked much like the one Do-jin had logged into that morning with Hong Jin-gu’s crew—a neglected structure abandoned in the suburbs because no one sought it out.
There was no sign of the civil servant who normally managed player log-ins, and only a few scattered pieces of trash littered the surroundings.

“…….”
— This is supposed to be an arena that yields lots of Mana Stones and gold? That can’t be right!

Do-jin wasn’t just wearing an in-ear—his outer jacket concealed a miniature camera disguised as a button.
Through that camera, Ra Hui could see the scene before them as well.

“You know this arena?”

— I know it well enough. It’s registered with the Awakening Ministry as an arena they’ve completely written off because the rewards are so pathetic.

Silence fell for a moment, then her voice came through the in-ear again.

— Could Hae Won-i have been deceived? You said the other person seemed low-quality.

Hearing Ra Hui’s words, Do-jin slowly sorted through his thoughts.

“The quests in this arena might have a loophole that criminals find useful… or the registration itself could be a cover.”
— What do you mean?
“Either way, there might be someone among the Awakening Ministry’s civil servants who’s in collusion with criminal players.”

As he walked, Do-jin cast his eyes downward.
Near the entrance of this supposedly neglected arena were discarded disposable coffee cups and triangular rice ball wrappers,
along with countless footprints pressed into the ground.

* * *

When Do-jin logged into the arena, there was only one thing he’d worried about.
What if too many players had already entered and hit the log-in cap?
Though it varied by arena, every arena had conditions on log-ins: you could only enter below a certain level and up to a certain number of players.
But it turned out to be a completely pointless worry.

“This has to be against the rules.”

Do-jin muttered the words in a tone of utter disbelief.
You couldn’t bring machinery into an arena.
Though devices made from Mana Stones acquired after the Great Change—like the in-ear and camera he carried now—could be brought into an arena, they still couldn’t be used once inside.
As a result, Do-jin was limited to talking to himself.

“……It’s like Dottegi Market.”

Only Players could enter the Arena. The same applied to the spectator seating within it.
The Player Log-in restriction extended to the stands as well. That’s why those occupying the spectator seats were mostly low-level Awakening Ministry officials or guild headhunters with no interest in Player activity.
Yet that vast seating area was now packed with Players.

“Come, come! What kind of match will we witness today?”
“Numbers 1 through 13! What’s your pick?”

The pitchman’s call, luring customers the way street gamblers did.

“No, no! This time we’re definitely getting a gladiator match!”
“Nah, nah. I’m thinking horse racing. We had gladiators two rounds ago.”

Whispers reached Do-jin’s ear from people passing nearby—speculation about what today’s match would be.
The entire atmosphere made one thing unmistakably clear to him.

“……So that’s how they acquire Mana Stones and gold when even Quest rewards are meager.”

Before long, a booming voice echoed through the Arena.
Judging by the animated tone, they seemed to have deliberately changed the Arena’s name to protect confidentiality.
Of course, the Players hadn’t actually altered the system’s official Arena designation.

– Greetings, ladies and gentlemen!
– Welcome once again to our Kingdom of Gambling!
– Until the day we can proudly be called the Gambling Empire! Let us all maintain order and preserve our secrecy!

And that voice—Do-jin had definitely heard it before.

“……Hong Jin-gu.”

A bitter smile crossed Do-jin’s lips.
The list of people he needed to find had just grown.

“Where would he be…….”

Do-jin was a Returnee. The last survivor who’d endured the Apocalypse.
Which meant he had experience with all manner of situations.
Even without being a Mage Player, he possessed considerable knowledge of magical skills.

‘If a Mage Player wanted to use a skill with maximum amplification……’

To achieve an amplified effect, anyone would think of Wind Attribute Skills first. But Hong Jin-gu was an Earth Attribute Player.
Which meant either Hong Jin-gu possessed a Wind Attribute magical item, or there was a Wind Attribute Mage nearby.

Furthermore…….

‘To activate a magical skill or item throughout the Arena, including both the competition floor and spectator seating……’

The center would be ideal.
But at a glance, the competition floor at the Arena’s center was empty.
Then where?

“…….”

Do-jin’s head snapped around.
Where a broadcast booth would’ve stood in an ordinary arena, in the spectator seating,
a makeshift tent caught his eye—one they’d furnished in their own fashion.

* * *

“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, yes! Yes, sir!”

Hong Jin-gu snapped to attention with perfect posture. Beside him, the Wind Attribute Mage player—bruised from head to toe after his earlier insolence—did the same.
It was a world apart from their first encounter.

– What? Where did this greenhorn crawl out from?
– Tsk, tsk… Listen here, young friend. In a place like this, humility is the shortest path to a long life.
– Care to teach me?
– …Hey, Jin-gu? What’s gotten into you?

After that, the Wind Attribute Mage went through much the same ordeal as Hong Jin-gu had.
Those passing by who witnessed the scene whispered and stole glances.
But not a soul stepped forward to aid the one being beaten.
Only the way they looked at Do-jin grew noticeably more cautious.

– Who is that young guy? I’ve never seen him before…
– That outfit… it’s definitely made from material items. These eyes don’t deceive…
– What organization is he from, anyway? China? Southeast Asia?
– I heard he was from the Russian faction…

Thanks to this, Do-jin could now be certain.

‘There’s another rule governing this Arena—and that rule is power.’

A rule born from mankind itself.
Absorbing the reality of the situation with cold clarity, Do-jin slowly opened his mouth.

“I’m looking for someone right now… You two can help me with that, naturally?”
“Just say the word, sir!”

Somehow, he’d become an unidentified foreign organization executive arriving in Korea.
But Do-jin decided to exploit this absurd misunderstanding for all it was worth.

* * *

“…What exactly are you asking me to do?”

Hae Won-i bit her lip.

“Come on, Won-i. You know as well as I do—pull it off here and we’re sitting pretty!”

Here. Meaning the gambling den run by criminal players.
This Arena did have an official name once. But no one could remember such things anymore. For all practical purposes, it was a gambling den and nothing else.
And this gambling den swarmed with players like Hae Won-i.
Those desperate for money, those bullied into a corner by crude extortion, those swindled.
Countless players who’d tumbled from the light into shadow for reasons of their own.
They became playthings in this den, wagered like tokens in some sick game.
In exchange, they received pocket change at best.
The real rewards went to the victors of the wagers.

‘What kind of Arena is this, where the Quest changes every time you log in…’

Hae Won-i was young, certainly, but she was a player nonetheless.
Ever since Awakening in the second year of middle school and being thrust into an Arena, she’d endured countless Quests. She’d picked up no shortage of information along the way.
Even for someone like her, this Arena felt ominous.
Generally speaking, Arenas had fixed Quests.
Take the F-rank Arena where Do-jin first logged in after his return—it was locked to a destroy-the-target Quest. When he logged in, the target happened to be a disc. But that pattern had repeated itself many times since the Great Change.
It was reality. It was law.
However, there was one arena that stood apart—the one criminals called the Kingdom of Gambling.

‘The testimonies from logged-out players never matched.’

Occasionally the same quest would repeat, but even that pattern was erratic.
Because of this, players attempting the quests couldn’t prepare properly.
As a result, this gambling arena had the highest failure rate of any arena.

‘Even if I fail, I won’t die or get hurt—so what’s the point? Just wear myself out and make no money. That’s this place!’

Hae Won-i clenched her teeth, glaring at the man across from her.
But he only shouted louder, his brazenness almost shameless.

“Won-i, you said you’ve cleared all kinds of arenas so far, right? Then you should do fine here too!”

If only he’d meant those words sincerely. That would be easier to bear.
The way his eyes had been darting around since before, as if he were screaming “I had no choice!”—it made her head throb with tension.
Then it happened.

– The time has come to announce the quest! All participants, please proceed to the arena floor!
– Come now! The moment of truth! What quest shall we see today?
– Currently we have three candidates! Horse racing, gladiatorial combat, and chariot racing!
– A moment we’ve all been waiting for… Who among you—
– Will claim today’s quest reward?
– The quest with the highest odds among our candidates is…!

The voices surged with human desire.

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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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