The Regressed Necromancer Prepares for the Apocalypse - Chapter 5

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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 Returning Necromancer Prepares for the End — Episode 5

Since mankind first gathered into societies, it has never once achieved true unity. It was a truth that would never change.

‘Unless the population drops by the thousands, that is.’

The Mana Stones and Gold pouring from the Arena were impossibly seductive rewards for humanity.
A substance that produced zero environmental pollution while supplying high-efficiency energy—it sounded like something from a dream.
For Players, the method of obtaining Mana Stones and Gold was simple: clear the Arena’s quests.
But there was another way.
It was the so-called streamer activity of gathering audiences and viewers.
Why?

‘Because the more viewers subscribe to a Player, the greater the benefits they receive.’

Upon Awakening—when registered as a Player in the system—everyone received a Channel.
Viewers could then observe all Player activities through the system and subscribe to the channels of Players they favored.
And as subscribers accumulated this way,
the Player was given a choice.
Would they increase their Mana Stone and Gold acquisition proportional to subscribers and viewers?
Or instead—

…….

Like right now.

Player Lee Do-jin’s Channel Viewers: 12 (5 minutes elapsed)

Player Lee Do-jin’s Channel Viewers: 20 (5 minutes elapsed)
Experience Acquisition Increased (+20%).

Player Lee Do-jin’s Channel Viewers: 25 (5 minutes elapsed), 3 (10 minutes elapsed)
Experience Acquisition Increased (+55%).

Grin—
In this way, boosting the experience gained,

‘Before the Regression, no one paid attention to this benefit. It was easier to equip yourself with items by getting more Mana Stones and Gold than by raising your Level.’

But for Do-jin now, it was an effect he desperately needed.
The other Players watching Do-jin check his chat and notifications gnashed their teeth.

“Hey! Get more in here!”

The shared chat window floating above the Players had been inundated with viewer messages since moments ago.
And the center of that topic was… Do-jin.

– Is that really F-rank?
– Looks like it from the F-rank Arena login log……?
– He’s flying everywhere!

The chat erupted. An unknown player who’d clearly just debuted was already taking down dozens of opponents!

“That fighting style—he’s definitely a melee combatant.”
“But then who’s controlling that skeleton?”

Even the headhunters and critics in the stands—men and women who’d seen every type of player imaginable—couldn’t read Lee Do-jin with any certainty.

‘Damn it. This wasn’t supposed to happen.’
‘How did things get so twisted?’
‘Why doesn’t that bastard even look tired?!’

The scouts and viewers gasped and cheered; the players recoiled in shock. But the true source of their amazement was Lee Do-jin’s performance itself.
While individual players might differ in level, all of them were F-rank—meaning none should possess mana reserves worth noting.
Yet a player capable of single-handedly crushing dozens of F-rank opponents had to be at least C-rank.
The reason Lee Do-jin could perform at this level was simple.

‘It’s nothing. I’ve fought one-against-many before the Return more times than I can count.’

When the Main Scenario first began, Lee Do-jin had been just another mediocre player among countless others.
By the time he’d become merely competent, humanity’s player count had already dwindled below ten percent.

‘In that hellish situation, taking on multiple enemies per player was routine.’

This experience had honed Lee Do-jin’s combat style into something precise and ruthlessly efficient—a master of mana allocation.
Exactly as he fought now.
Freshly Awakened and barely worth mentioning in terms of raw power, he distributed his meager mana only where it mattered: to his feet for smooth movement, to his hands for accurate strikes.
Excess mana he funneled into his eyes and ears, calculating and analyzing the battlefield before his opponents could even blink.
For instance, the player before him now—the one wielding the greatsword—

‘In another second, his balance will slip slightly.’

So Lee Do-jin hooked the man’s leg at precisely that moment, and as panic drained the strength from his grip, wrenched the blade away and swung it in one fluid motion.

‘That mana fluctuation—a mage preparing a spell. And the target… me. An offensive incantation?’

Lee Do-jin hurled the player he’d already subdued directly into the mage’s line of fire, disrupting the casting.
All of this—his entire performance—rested on accumulated battle experience from before the Return.
But the players facing him had no way of knowing that. Their frustration was maddening.

“This is rigged!”

And their anxiety only deepened as they watched the sponsorship windows cascading before their eyes.

– [Corn Pop] has sponsored 10 Gold.
– [Lovely] has sponsored 5 Gold.
– [Shadow King] has sponsored 1 Mana Stone.

“Dammit! All the viewers are watching that guy!”

Blue windows flickered dizzyingly around Lee Do-jin, appearing and disappearing in a dizzying orbit.
Anyone with even basic knowledge of players could identify them instantly.
Sponsorship windows.

‘Hell! Why did that freak have to show up in this Arena of all places?!’

Then, suddenly, one of the windows snagged Lee Do-jin’s attention.
His limbs continued their practiced dance of parrying and striking without pause, but his eyes—his eyes fixed themselves nakedly, unmistakably on the newly emerged window.

“……!”

Suddenly, an inexplicable smile spread across his pale face. The kind of smile that made every Player around him shudder.

* * *

“How entertaining.”

Viewers often sent such messages to Players in the middle of a quest at the Arena. Most of the time it was bored wealth with money and time to burn.
But Do-jin couldn’t ignore the Mission window he’d just opened.

– [Cheerful Mask] has sponsored 20 Gold.
Mission: Destroy all the discs for 500 Gold. Smash all the troublemakers for 20 Low-grade Mana Stones.
Do you accept? Yes / No

The Gold and Mana Stones didn’t matter much.
Do-jin’s attention snagged on the username “Cheerful Mask.”

“I’ll gladly accept.”

In that instant, Do-jin’s eyes flashed with a sharp, eerie light. At the same moment, his magical energy moved with vicious precision.

……!

In a heartbeat, Do-jin’s senses and nerves reconnected with the Raven Skeletons anew.

Breathe out……

Sensing that Do-jin was doing something, the surrounding Players threw themselves at him with renewed fury. Yet Do-jin remained unmoved, perfectly composed.
The complex, precise battle instinct honed through countless fights where he’d been outnumbered.
That brilliant mind merged with the Necromancer’s magical bond to his Minions, and Do-jin’s senses intertwined with the Skeletons.

Slice!
On the ground, a spearman Player thrust his weapon at Do-jin. Do-jin dodged it with nothing more than a single step.
In the same motion, he seized the spear, wrenched it free, and kicked the man down with his boot.
Tumble-tumble— Crash!

“Ugh!”
“Gah!”

The disarmed spearman rolled across the ground like a drum, colliding head-on with a Priest Player who’d been about to cast a support skill.

Whoosh!
Above, the Apostle deftly dodged an arrow flying up from the ground, then caught another arrow with both feet. Using the arrowhead, he shattered another disc.

“That’s impossible!”

The Player who’d fired the arrows at the Apostle screamed.
Moments later, the archer’s face was torn to shreds by a Raven Skeleton plummeting down like a bolt of lightning.
Hearing his anguished cry, Do-jin surveyed the sky through the Apostle’s eyes. Now, the remaining discs were……

Seven.
Soon it became six.
Quickly, four.

“Damn it! At least this one—!”

On the ground, a Spiritist summoned a wind spirit.
The problem, however, was that the spirit he’d summoned was the lowest grade, unable to keep pace with the Apostle’s strength and speed.

Boom!
And so the final disc shattered beneath the Apostle’s talons, its fragments tumbling to the ground.
It was in that same moment that the last Player attacking Lee Do-jin fell, run through by his spear.

* * *

Discs depleted.
Quest complete.

At last, the quest had ended.
Yet every challenger who saw the completion screen bore the same twisted expression.

“This can’t be right! We haven’t even hit the one-hour mark!”
“This score… this can’t be our actual score…”

Nearly every challenger had failed to clear the quest.
Only three had passed.

Congratulations!
You have cleared the quest in first place.
Rewards have been granted.

Clear Reward: 3 Low-grade Mana Stones, 50 Gold
First Place Reward: 1 E-rank Item

Extraordinary Achievement!
You are the seventh person in the world to achieve Overflow.
Rewards have been granted.

Achievement Reward: Skill (Random, 1)

Miraculous Achievement!
You are the first in the world to achieve Overflow in your debut quest.
Rewards have been granted.

Achievement Reward: Item Acquisition (C-rank or higher, 1)

But that wasn’t all.

You have leveled up (Lv. 12 / E-rank).

“The tutorial does make leveling up easier, I’ll admit.”

And…

Your Raven Skeleton received a portion of your experience.
It has leveled up (Lv. 7).
Its attack power has increased.

The Raven Skeleton gained a share of its master’s experience.
Level up (LV.5).
Mobility has increased.

“Do minions benefit from the Necromancer’s level? There’s something similar about summoners, I suppose.”

Do-jin murmured under his breath. The others nearby were glaring at him with eyes that mixed frustration and envy, but he paid them no mind.
The chat alone was making him dizzy.

‘Fighting was actually quieter than this.’

Chat windows and sponsorship notifications flickered in and out of existence near Do-jin.
The public chat among viewers appeared in the air at the center of the Arena, visible to everyone together.
But individual messages sent to specific Players appeared near that Player, just like sponsorship notifications.

– A warrior commanding minions? That’s not cheating?

The chat was right. The five Raven Skeletons, having finished their one-sided hunt of the discs, had returned obediently to Do-jin, so there was no doubt that he was a Necromancer.
Despite how he’d fought in close combat against numerous Players without giving an inch!
Because of that, the chat window now showed an explosive reaction completely unbecoming of an F-rank Arena broadcast.

– A warrior? A Necromancer?
– I’ve been checking the class window this whole time, and there’s no Necromancer class listed.
– Gotta be gear. Those skeletons are bone golems, and he’s definitely using items that boost stats.

……It was so loud that Do-jin decided to check the sponsorship mission window first.

– Mission Success: [Bright Mask] has sponsored 500 Gold and 20 Low-grade Mana Stones.
– He actually pulled it off?

Starting with Bright Mask’s message, a tsunami of messages began to wash over Do-jin.

– Hello, this is a scout from the Sanai Guild. Would it be possible to get your contact information……
– You handled that spear well. Where did you train in spearmanship?
– Hidden Class? Necromancer?

“…….”

Do-jin took a moment to steady his breathing and compose his expression and voice.

“I’m grateful for your kind words.”

– The channel owner needs to come clean right now!
– Which guild do you belong to, if I may ask?

Watching the endless barrage of messages, Do-jin felt something strange. He’d never experienced this kind of attention before the Regression.
Before the Regression, Do-jin hadn’t been a particularly active Player. He’d simply gathered a reasonable amount of Mana Stones and Gold, moving quietly without drawing notice.
Then, after the Main Scenario began, the number of humans started dwindling day by day.

‘In the end, maybe only about ten Players survived?’

When the final battle began, it was down to five—including Do-jin himself.
Perhaps that’s why he didn’t entirely dislike this noisy atmosphere.

“I should answer the questions people are most curious about first, don’t you think?”

While Lee Do-jin fielded a barrage of questions from the viewers, he noticed a surge of people rushing toward him—spectators who had leaped down from the stands.

“Look! It’s the rookie!”
“Wait just a moment!”

As the quest completed, the Arena reverted to its original stadium form. Simultaneously, a new window materialized above the Arena alongside the chat interface.
It was the results announcement for the quest.

Quest Results

1st Place: Lee Do-jin – 2,417 Discs / 35 Minutes
2nd Place: Cha Yu-ri – 100 Discs / 31 Minutes
3rd Place: Kim Sang-hwan – 100 Discs / 34 Minutes

MVP: Lee Do-jin / Overflow New Record Achieved!

……

Lee Do-jin shrugged and turned his gaze away from the notification—
Already he was surrounded by people.

“Hello! You’re Lee Do-jin, aren’t you?!”
“I’m a YouTuber—Arena Commentary Expert! Can I get a quick interview……?”
“We’re from the Myeongwang Guild! We’d like to talk!”

Their reaction was hardly excessive.
Lee Do-jin was the first player in the entire world to achieve Overflow on his debut match.

“Move aside! The government should handle talent like this……!”
“What are you trying to do to our guild!”
“No, no—shouldn’t we introduce him to the public first……!”
……

It was loud, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

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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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