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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 4: This is Why I'm a Necromancer (1)
〔What is this temple? Which constellation is it dedicated to, that it is so large and beautiful!〕
"Temple my foot. It's an airport."
Kronos couldn’t stop expressing his amazement as he looked at Incheon International Airport.
The ruins of the Knossos Palace, like other relics of its time, had a splendid structure considering the time period, but it was no match for modern architecture.
This was the plight of the Fallen Star constellation, unable to observe the world after being confined.
It's only natural for him to be surprised by Incheon Airport.
〔Oh, to think the world has changed so much. Time truly flies!〕
"...Can you cut it out?"
Even with Yoojin's grumbling, Kronos' admiration didn't stop until they arrived at the Gate that opened in Myeongdong.
A large crack located in the middle of Myeongdong.
A dark blue hole shimmered in the middle of the distorted space.
A passage leading to another dimension, a Gate.
[Ancient Garden]
[Type - Fixed Type]
[Entry Condition: 1 Star]
[Gate Area: Medium]
[Mana Density: 52%]
'Just as I remember.'
Yoojin tapped his temple with his finger.
There are two types of Gates.
A fixed type that is permanently maintained, and a flow type that disappears when the boss monster or gate core is removed.
The Ancient Garden is the former.
As the entry restriction is 1 Star, it's a gate favored by beginner Hunters.
- Looking for 1 melee Hunter.
- Level 13 (1 Star) magic-type looking for a team.
Recruitment advertisements on the Hunter-only application, also known as Hunternet.
Around the Gate, Hunters gathered in groups tilted their heads.
They are looking for members for a raid that is being formed on the spot, also known as a pickup group (pug).
'At this time, the secrets of the gate haven't been revealed yet.'
Before his return, it was a popular place, to the extent that the top 10 prominent guilds, including the top 3 in Korea, controlled the entry of Hunters.
Seeing the Hunters recruiting team members made it feel real that he had returned to the past.
‘Heh. It feels so good to have the information of the future in advance.’
"Um... If you're going alone, would you like to join our team?"
Kang Minho, a man in his mid-20s among the recruiting Hunters, spoke to him.
Yoojin waved his hand dismissively and headed towards the crack.
"Ah, seems like he hasn't been Awakened for long."
"Oppa, why do you care? He said he'll handle it himself."
Ignoring the bickering of the team members, he pushed himself through the crack.
With a feeling of weightlessness, the scenery instantly changes.
[You have entered the Ancient Garden.]
Colorful flowers.
A scenery befitting the name of the gate unfolds before Yoojin's eyes.
'The starting point is the center.'
The Ancient Garden is divided into three sections.
The flower garden in the center, a safe zone and the starting point of the Gate.
The southern forest, where goblins appear.
And finally, the northern lake area, where Frogmen appear.
Yoojin looked up at the sky and clicked his tongue.
'It's a day short of a full moon.'
The hidden opportunity within the Ancient Garden is only available under a full moon.
'Should I consider myself lucky that the moon will be full tomorrow? My first prey should be a goblin.'
The physical abilities of a level 1 Hunter aren't much different from an ordinary person.
If he encountered a Frogman near the lake, he would end his second life before he could even enjoy his return.
'How long have I been walking?'
Not long after entering the forest, a rustling sound reached his ears.
〔Try using the Divine Spell I bestowed upon you.〕
"You mean Life Drain?"
He was curious about the performance and mechanism of the Divine Spell.
Judging from the description alone, he wondered if it was truly a Divine Skill.
'For a typical priest, maybe.'
〔Olympus〕
〔Divine Spells granted upon selection〕
▷ Heal - Healing spell
▷ Bless - Stat increase buff spell
▷ Holy Barrier - Defense spell
〔Asgard〕
〔Divine Spells granted upon selection〕
▷ Heal - Healing spell
▷ Berserk - Frenzy spell
▷ Blood Rage - Attack power increase, defense decrease buff
'This is how you receive healing spells and buffs depending on the pantheon you serve.'
But as the Saint of Kronos, the skills Yoojin received seemed far from ordinary.
[Unique Trait - Midnight Sun is activated.]
[Mana → Divine Power conversion.]
“Kiki-kik!”
The sound of rustling bushes was the noise of a goblin leaping.
The creature, approaching at close range, bared its teeth and aimed for Yoojin's thigh.
A rusty dagger in its hand.
It looked like it would give him tetanus just by touching it.
“Thanks for coming to me first.”
It's a stereotype that the mage class is weak in close combat.
Yoojin, in particular, often hunted alone, so he was somewhat skilled in close combat.
'Even though I didn't learn it properly.'
He calmly stared at the goblin rushing towards him.
A goblin's specs are slightly lower than a human's.
A beginner might flinch at the monster's ferocious appearance, but...
'I've been through every kind of battle imaginable.'
Swish!
The dagger in the goblin's hand cut through the air.
A slight twist of his body was enough to dodge it.
The goblin, having swung its sword with all its might, missed its target and stumbled.
Yoojin, bending slightly at the waist, quickly extended his right arm.
"Keck!"
Yoojin grabbed the goblin by the scruff of its neck.
[Life Drain activated.]
A whitish energy enveloped his hand.
"Whoa..."
Yoojin let out a gasp of admiration.
'It feels similar to Spirit Power.'
Although it was a divine spell, it had a wavelength similar to a necromancer's necromancy.
The whitish energy seeped into the goblin's body, and green particles were sucked into Yoojin's body through his hand.
'It's the goblin's life force.'
The goblin's skin shriveled as its life force was drained.
In just a few seconds, its life force was absorbed so rapidly that it became completely withered.
The goblin's life force accumulated in Yoojin's dantian.
'I'll absorb it right away.'
[The goblin's life force permeates your body.]
[Strength permanently increased by 0.1.]
[Agility permanently increased by 0.1.]
"Crazy."
He gained a total of 0.2 stat points just by absorbing one goblin?
The bonus stats given when leveling up once is 5.
By simple calculation, this was equivalent to leveling up once by hunting 25 goblins.
〔Khahahaha! Contractor, are you pleased?〕
"Yes, it's incredible."
〔Praise my greatness!〕
He didn't like Kronos' arrogant attitude, but he would tolerate it.
Life Drain was a divine spell worth that much.
'Right now, experience acquisition is fast, but it gets harder as the constellation level increases.'
A divine spell that converts a monster's life force into ability points.
Besides leveling up, there are other ways to strengthen the body.
'The most common method is through elixirs.'
Other than that, there are also ways to receive titles by accepting blessings or meeting hidden conditions scattered throughout the gate.
The problem is that none of them are easy.
Yoojin gulped.
'Isn't this a divine spell at the level of a Pope or a Saint?'
A divine spell that breaks common sense.
He thought he only needed to obtain blessings from the patron constellation.
His lips twitched at the unexpected opportunity.
'I should research the abilities of priests when I get the chance.'
Yoojin stopped his thoughts and looked down at the ground.
The corpse of the goblin, withered from having its life force drained.
Even the goblin's lifeless body was of use to Yoojin.
[Unique Trait – Midnight Sun activated.]
[Divine Power → Spirit Power]
'Well then, shall we begin?'
Necromancy, which uses the dead as a medium for sorcery.
The whitish energy blooming from Yoojin's hand entered the goblin's open mouth.
'I'll make you useful enough.'
Spiritual energy flowed down its throat and settled in the heart.
A blue stone was nestled inside.
The Spirit Power seeped into the 'mana stone,' the main source of income for Hunters, stimulating the still heart.
Thump!
The Spirit Power, mixed with the mana contained in the mana stone, began to course through the goblin's corpse via its blood vessels.
The bones hardened.
The shriveled skin became as tough as rubber.
The corpse's skin, stained with Spirit Power, turned pitch black.
"Answer my call."
[Raise Undead activated.]
The goblin's head, which had been bent backward, snapped forward with a crack, like a released spring.
Dead eyes.
A blue light flickered within the faded pupils.
"Grrr..."
The goblin's corpse, now a zombie, let out a rattling sound and staggered to its feet.
[Zombie completion is very high.]
[All stats increased by 97.2%.]
To draw out power beyond the corpse's original capabilities, a processing procedure is required.
That's why the [Library of Knowledge] includes knowledge of alchemy.
Yoojin skipped that and raised the zombie's stats to nearly double using only Spirit Power.
A corpse processing technique that an ordinary necromancer could only dream of.
'Only 97%? It's not high considering I even gave up the mana stone.'
He didn't look satisfied at all.
Yoojin clicked his tongue and brushed back his hair.
Why do Hunters hunt monsters?
Some might say it's to become stronger, but...
Most would answer like this:
- To make a lot of money.
The reason why being a Hunter is a popular profession despite being high-risk is because of the income that follows.
The mana stone in a monster's heart is the main source of income for Hunters.
He wasn't satisfied because the stats of the undead he strengthened weren't high, even though he gave up his income.
"It even took a whole second to create. In my prime, I could have finished it in 0.1 seconds."
Yoojin shook his head.
There was no end to the comparison with himself before his return.
[Zombie]
Race: Undead
Rank: ★
◎ Stats
Strength: 22 / Agility: 21 / Health: 17 / Endurance: 13 / Magic Power: 8
◎ Traits
▷ Undying Existence [C]
◎ Skills
▷ Poison [E] / Infection [E]
'This should be enough to hold its own in the [Ancient Garden].'
Yoojin proceeded through the forest with the zombie in front of him.
"Kik!"
A goblin leaped from the bushes.
This time, there were three.
Yoojin, wanting to test the zombie's combat abilities, folded his arms and gave the attack command.
"Grrr!"
The zombie, dragging its feet, charged forward. Thanks to the enhanced specs from the Spirit Power processing, it moved faster than the goblins.
Pouncing on the goblin leading the charge, the zombie opened its jaws wide.
Crunch!
With sharp teeth, it bit into the goblin's neck.
The goblin let out a scream—
"Kirek!"
—flailing its arms and trying to push the zombie away.
But it was no match for the zombie, which had been strengthened twofold by Yoojin's skills.
The other goblins, arriving a step late, stabbed wildly with their daggers, causing rotten flesh to fall off here and there.
But the zombie, unfazed even when stabbed in vital spots, continued its assault.
While the goblins were distracted by the zombie...
"Am I invisible to you guys?"
Yoojin, who had somehow gotten behind them, grabbed the back of the neck of the goblin clinging to the zombie.
Converting Spirit Power to Divine Power, he unleashed Life Drain. The goblin's body trembled like an aspen leaf.
"Kekh."
It let out a weak sigh and collapsed to the ground.
'It's also useful for offense.'
Sucking out all of a goblin's life force in a matter of seconds?
Life Drain's ability to steal life force was superior to most curses.
It's a misconception that necromancers are weak in close combat.
Around the time Yoojin had drained one goblin dry like a mummy with Life Drain...
"Kieeek!"
With a final scream, the head of the goblin bitten by the zombie snapped in the opposite direction.
'Can I use Life Drain on something that's already dead?'
Although Yoojin had already reached the pinnacle of necromancy, this was his first time using a divine spell.
And the constellation he worshipped was far from ordinary.
After his return, he needed to fully grasp his newfound abilities.
[Life Drain activated.]
A green energy, the goblin's life force, shimmered at the point of contact.
'It works.'
There were dark magic spells that could steal life force, but their targets were limited to 'the living.'
The same went for vampires' bloodsucking.
However...
Life Drain had a much wider range of permissible targets.
This meant...
'I can increase my hunting speed.'
There was no longer a need to distinguish between life and death when hunting goblins.
"Answer my call."
Two goblins joined the ranks of the undead.
The real hunt was about to begin.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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