The Regressed Necromancer Prepares for the Apocalypse - Chapter 34

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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 Regressed Necromancer Prepares for the Apocalypse — Episode 34

A rumor about System Hacking transmitted by Tyron from America.
But Do Jin’s thoughts ran differently.

‘This is a trap.’

If System Hacking had truly succeeded, the government would have announced it at the national level, completed the patent registration, and launched a massive business venture.
The resources obtainable from the System were boundless, after all.
……Or at least, they would appear boundless to humanity at this stage.

‘Likely the incident in the Vortex of Desire Arena spread across the entire world in an instant through underground information networks. But they wouldn’t have found a single lead. Hangang Group erased mine and Hae Won’s traces thoroughly.’

In fact, Do Jin had even gone so far as to testify to Hangang Group’s researchers about the situation at the time, deliberately presenting himself as unconnected to the variant incident.
And he logged into the Arena as usual, but maintained his appearance under perfect disguise.

‘So it would have been ambiguous whether I’m that Player. So they started throwing bait.’

Whoever spread this rumor must have prioritized disseminating information so that it reached players suspected of challenging the Vortex of Desire quest that day.
But Hae Won, who knew nothing about such an enormous problem as System Hacking, would never react to bait like this.
And if he himself didn’t make a move?

‘Uninvited guests will arrive soon enough.’

Do Jin’s prediction proved exact.

* * *

Inside an Arena, training alone as always.
Do Jin never turned on Streaming when he used the Arena for training purposes.
Even when Tyron, who visited Korea occasionally, or Hae Won, a fellow guild member, logged in together to train with him, it was the same.
But that day, though he logged in alone and had not activated Streaming—
Do Jin was not alone inside the Arena.

“Welcome, everyone. You’re uninvited guests, but I welcome you nonetheless.”

A strange, bold smile—the sort he typically displayed when dealing with Hangang Group people during his Streams.
That smile settled over Do Jin’s face like a mask.
Eight Players advanced, surrounding Do Jin.
All of them wore sleek Black Suits and Black Sunglasses. To the eye, they looked like bodyguards from somewhere rushing in by the dozen.
Yet the faces of those wearing the sunglasses were uniformly blurred, making them impossible to discern properly. Moreover, a strange Mana emanated from the Suits they wore.

“What fine equipment you’ve brought along. At least no one will tell you your dress code is improper.”

The E-Rank Arena Do Jin was currently using for training allowed any Player of Level 30 or below to log in.
That meant Players of Level 31 and above could not log in. Likely, the reason these intruders were armed with such elaborate equipment was precisely that.
To suppress Do Jin reliably.
And even if they stationed plenty of guards outside the Arena, it was impossible to completely prevent equipped Players from sneaking in and logging in.
The System remained an arena humanity had yet to breach, no matter how legally designated this Arena was as exclusive to Test Guild.

‘Well, in that sense, they’ll abandon their suspicion that I’m the cause of System Hacking.’

No matter how unique his Class or his record as an Under-Arena Clear Player—
if Hangang Group couldn’t even stop unauthorized logins from outsiders and was that lax—
and that Player was still only training in an E-Rank Arena—
they couldn’t possibly believe such a Player was capable of the unprecedented act of System Hacking.
And if one went further, even if Do Jin became certain that he was unconnected to System Hacking—

“What an honor—so many of you came all this way to crush a rookie of a newly formed guild under Hangang Group, shall I say?”

If he could eliminate early a Player who would grow into a formidable force in the near future.
Wouldn’t that be profit enough for those who sent these intruders?

“…….”

The intruders said nothing. They simply drew their weapons and prepared for combat.

“Exactly—no need for words? I do appreciate efficiency.”

Do Jin’s eyes swept across the room.
Eight enemies in total. Three spearmen, two archers, and one each of summoner, mage, and monk.

“My streaming audience, I see. Thoroughly prepared to counter my Spear Arts and Subordinates, are you?”

Given the nature of the spear as a weapon—its length—there were no swordsmen among them.
Instead, they’d formed their composition around spearmen with matching attack radius, specializing in ranged strikes and multi-target assaults.

‘In the Vortex of Desire, did I only showcase chariot piloting besides Spear Arts?’

With only the intelligence gathered during the chariot race, it would have been hard for them to even guess the identity of the weapons Do Jin had wielded then.
They clearly hadn’t imagined it was skill application at work.

‘Right. I never intended to send these bastards back unscathed anyway. Why not use them to run a test?’

A Player’s skills can be acquired through various methods—class-specific skills, quest rewards, or through repeated execution of specific actions or scenarios.
Do Jin’s fourth skill, established through that third method.

<Blood Magic (D / Lv.1)>
Description: Active type. Can drain blood from living organic targets, or create blood weapons using the skill owner’s blood and mana.
Mana Cost: 5 / per use
Drain Effect: Absorb small amounts of the target’s health and mana
Weapon Crafting Effect: Constructed from blood and mana according to the skill owner’s image. Can create entirely new weapons or enhance existing ones (attack power +5%). When mana supply ceases, the weapon loses form and reverts to blood.

‘Who would have thought mixing Necromancy and Subordinate Equip would yield a new skill.’
Thrust into an unexpected chariot race, Do Jin had hidden himself as much as possible by directly utilizing his Subordinates’ abilities through Subordinate Equip rather than relying solely on Necromancy.
The results proved surprisingly effective, and through consistent training…….
The new skill Blood Magic (D) had quietly taken form.

‘If I keep refining skeletons and zombies, perhaps I’ll develop yet another new skill to match.’

And his intention to test Blood Magic before these intruders was crystal clear.
Do Jin had no intention of letting these eight—no,
nine of them walk away alive.

* * *

‘A Necromancer? And quite young at that?’

That was the first thought the team leader, dispatched to the young Test Guild member, had entertained.
Player Awakening shows no mercy to guilt or innocence.
As a result, those who had operated as thieves or con artists would sometimes exploit the Arena as if it were an organizational hideout.
Among such disreputably-sourced Players, there were spies, human traffickers, and even those who had been hitmen.
These sorts gathered in a domain separate from the gamblers drawn to the Vortex of Desire.
The Player Specialist Kidnapping and Assassination Organization.
They moved strictly by contract alone.
None of them knew who the organization’s head or executives were.
During ordinary times, the members logged into the Arena like any other Player, free to stream or level up as they pleased, but the moment a contract came in, they became entirely different people from another world.
The contract they’d taken on this time targeted a Necromancer affiliated with the Test Guild.
The terms of the commission were somewhat complicated.
Kidnap him, kill him, or—
Extract information from him.

……

The intruders received the signal from their leader’s eye contact.
They scattered in different directions, encircling Do Jin—leaving only one position vacant.

……

Behind the sunglasses, the leader’s gaze swept across the rear of the battlefield.
A ninth intruder, concealed by a B-Rank item—an Invisibility Cloak—watched from a safe distance, far removed from the combat zone.
An observer, deliberately positioned by the leader because of the unnecessarily complicated contract terms.
If they failed to kill or capture Do Jin, if they all failed the mission—if they couldn’t even Log Out from the Arena—then the hidden ninth operative would escape and report everything he’d witnessed and heard to their employer.

……

The leader raised his hand. It was the signal to attack.
In that same instant, eight intruders moved.
The leader wielding Twin Spears, a woman with a Crescent Blade, and a man with a Halberd rushed at Do Jin.
An archer who’d nocked two arrows simultaneously on a Large Bow and a crossbowman with a Crossbow both loosed their shots at once.
From the rear, a summoner conjured no fewer than five Golems, each standing nearly three meters tall, a mage unleashed Lightning Magic in tandem with the archers, and a monk cast support skills on the remaining seven members.
A monk layered buff spells across the remaining seven operatives.

“Welcome, uninvited guests.”

In response, the Mithril Spear materialized in Do Jin’s grip. At his side, his subordinates rose to their feet.

<Necromancy (C / Lv.25)>
Description: Active type. Allows the user to bind the dead—medium-sized animals or monsters—as Subordinates.
Mana Cost: 3 per use
Subordinate Slots: 45 / 50
Subordinate Types: Skeletons (bone attribute), Mid- to Low-Tier Zombies (toxin attribute), Mid- to Low-Tier Vampires (blood attribute), Ghosts (soul attribute)

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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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