The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 134
Therefore, the story went that the rumor was created to reveal how much the traitors would pay for creating a flaw in the royal family.
But it seemed that wasn’t entirely a baseless rumor.
Although I didn’t turn corpses into undead, I had once extracted the shadows of traitors’ souls, and some of them ended up in my hands.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s known.”
Who would believe it, anyway?
If I told them, they’d just think it’s a rumor, and Paullig wouldn’t be the kind to spread it around.
The reason Paullig thought that way was simple.
“If it weren’t true, I wouldn’t have been able to get involved in this incident.”
This excavation of the ancient ruins was something not only the Spetztran royal family but also the entire 6-kingdom alliance wanted.
To that extent, being involved in this incident at this time indirectly showed how much the royal family trusted him.
He must have already proven his loyalty a long time ago. If not, it wouldn’t be normal for him to be related to this incident.
The shadows of souls I had obtained.
As old as they were, their colors were deep, and as strong as they were in life, their auras were thick.
“It’s better to use them for Specter’s reinforcement.”
Honestly, there was too little information about what kind of people they were in life.
Of course, it wasn’t like it couldn’t be used.
With this much, I could honestly create multiple high-ranking undead commanders, and if I had enough corpses, I could get an army of over a thousand.
But I didn’t do that.
“It’s better to raise the quality.”
Such opportunities were rare.
Specter had only made subtle moves in subtle positions until now.
It wasn’t useless.
Indirect reconnaissance, supporting Kyra and Atina…
One thing was clear.
However, considering Specter’s original abilities as an undead, that level of activity was lacking.
The original Specter was an undead with a significant advantage, able to use instantaneous materialization to attack opponents one-sidedly, unaffected by physical attacks that didn’t contain mana.
That wasn’t all. With time, it could also drain the opponent’s mental and physical strength, making them wither away, and using that energy, it could grow stronger, making it a 5-class undead that wasn’t easily created.
However, Specter hadn’t been able to utilize those advantages properly until now.
“The level of those I fought wasn’t low. There were many who used mana, and it was focused on short-term battles rather than long-term ones.”
My skills at the time of creating Specter were also insufficient, which had a significant impact.
Materialization only became possible later, and even then, there was limited room for activity.
Unlike when I was in the monster forest, as a mercenary, I couldn’t just let it loose, and its growth was also restricted.
So, I was thinking of reinforcing Specter, which I hadn’t been able to use properly until now, and making it a genuine force.
“The timing is good, too.”
Once this request is over, I’ll practically become a publicly recognized dark mage.
There were a few tasks left to handle, but the fact that our primary goal was within reach couldn’t be denied.
And if I became a publicly recognized dark mage, I would need not only ordinary undead but also ghost-type undead.
So, it was a good idea to prepare in advance.
“I’ve already filled in the gaps for ordinary undead.”
The restrictions had been lifted to a considerable extent.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt that this was the right decision.
When Paulie left and we were alone, I turned to my companions and said,
“Three days. We’ll start our attack in three days.”
“Hmm, do we have to? Can’t we just finish it early and get started? We’ve got our gear ready, so there’s no need to drag it out.”
Artina asked if there was a need to do so.
After all, we knew about the Guardian, and our original plan was to finish everything and take a break.
“I want to give Valduer a chance.”
“Oh, are you going to feed him a potion?”
“It won’t do much good for you or Kayla, anyway.”
Recently, I’d been quite exhausted, and I thought I’d try to get something out of this opportunity.
When I mentioned giving Valduer a potion, he looked slightly taken aback.
“Oh, no, it’s okay. I’m fine… compared to…”
“Just take it. Eat it and try to take the lead in this upcoming attack. And, Anelis.”
“What you received, is it the Dark Elf’s vision?”
“…It’s true, and it’s not true.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Artina asked in a slightly sharp tone.
“Tell me straight out. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“Well… it’s… if Dark Elf warriors learn it as a basic skill, I, as a half-breed with a body closer to humans, couldn’t learn it well. So, it seems they modified it so I could learn it.”
“…Can humans learn it too?”
“That’s… difficult….They modified it so I could learn it, it seems.”
“It seems it’s the latter, anyway.”
It wasn’t something I had prepared, but rather something that had been leaked and didn’t matter even if it was exposed.
This was unexpected.
Who would have thought they’d customize general skills and send them over?
“It looks like they’re quite fond of you, sending it to the outside world.”
“…Yes. That’s right. I thought it was abandoned.”
“Do you want to go back?”
Anelis shook her head at my question.
“No. That won’t happen.”
There was no hesitation in her response.
“Then, is that potion the same?”
“Yes. It forces mana to awaken… or rather, allows you to use magic power.”
Magic power.
It wasn’t strange. She was a half-breed of the Dark Elf clan, and Dark Elves were a race that primarily handled extremely rare dark magic.
And dark magic was a type of power that could be learned even if one lacked talent.
“There are people who summon demons using all sorts of shortcuts and become dark magic users through contracts.”
Relying on elixirs to awaken magical power wasn’t that impressive.
It was just not a good choice.
Most dark magic users thought it was miserable…
“Maybe being a half-Dark Elf would be a bit better?”
I didn’t know many cases, so I couldn’t be certain. My mentor didn’t teach me those details either.
She picked up one of the two books and said,
“Magic requires only a tiny amount. This book contains methods to supply that magic… and this is a revised prophecy tailored to you.”
“Can I take a look at the methods to supply magic?”
“Of course.”
She handed me one of the books, and I quickly flipped through its contents.
“…It’s primitive, but there are almost no side effects. It seems that a tiny amount of magic is indeed sufficient.”
Still, it wasn’t a good method.
I returned the book to Anelis and said,
“I’ll provide the magic. Just let me know when you need it. No, not that.”
I thought it would be better to get involved from the moment she took the elixir.
“I’ll supervise when you take it.”
“What… Inha, why you?”
“I’ll take responsibility instead.”
Atina and Kaila intervened, dissatisfied with my behavior.
“Magic is a dark magic user’s specialty. Since we’ve given you the opportunity, you should make the most of it.”
It wasn’t like I promised to give her magic whenever she needed it for no reason.
To be honest, I didn’t fully trust Anelis yet.
Or maybe I would never trust her as much as I trusted Atina or Kaila.
So, I planned to make her dependent on me as much as possible.
Of course, I was confident that having her on our side would be beneficial in the end.
It was just my nature to add extra safety measures.
“Especially since magic can easily stir emotions.”
If the opportunity arose, I thought I might be able to pull off a simple trick or two.
Moreover, forced magical awakening was a dangerous and high-risk method.
If possible, I wanted to eliminate that threat beforehand.
“I don’t want to go crazy and lose control, only to end up hurting myself.”
However, my behavior seemed to be quite annoying to Atina and Kaila.
Even if I explained that I was trying to minimize the risk, they didn’t seem willing to give up easily, and I didn’t back down either.
Anelis looked puzzled.
“If you’re that worried, why don’t you both supervise? It’s fine if both of you come along. We have Valdur anyway?”
“Eat the elixir a bit later. I’ll help.”
Kaila simply resolved the issue.
Balduer didn’t seem particularly concerned. No, he had an attitude as if it was a matter of course.
In the end, Anelis took the elixir under the supervision of me, Artina, and Kayla.
She looked quite burdened, but soon realized she couldn’t refuse.
In the lodging provided by Paulig, Anelis consumed the elixir sent by her family.
Immediately, she scrunched up her face in pain, her brow furrowed strongly.
The elixir contained a small amount of magic, and soon she began to forcibly awaken.
The surrounding mana began to flow into her body, mixing with the magic to form her power.
I grabbed Anelis’s head and immediately blocked the magic heading towards her brain.
“I knew this would happen.”
It’s not a difficult power to control for me, but it’s not something ordinary people can handle.
Although Anelis is a dark elf hybrid, even dark elves are affected by magic, just like humans.
So, I could have predicted it, and I was able to easily prevent the side effects that would occur to Anelis.
“It’s possible that the dark elf side didn’t suggest this method to Anelis until now because they didn’t want to take the risk.”
It’s just speculation, but considering they’re this concerned, it’s not an impossible story.
While I was lost in thought, Anelis’s body began to take shape, and she successfully completed her awakening.
“Indeed, she’s not a mage.”
She’s closer to a warrior. If she reaches the master level, she might develop a mana heart like Kayla or Artina.
To be precise, it would be a power heart, but the possibility of her reaching that level, considering she couldn’t even awaken on her own, was objectively low.
To be honest, it’s more likely that Balduer would succeed.
Even after her awakening was complete, Anelis stared blankly into space with a vacant expression.
And soon, her gaze turned towards me.
Her direct gaze was not empty, unlike her expression. Instead, I could sense a subtle joy and faint pleasure mixed within.
It’s not hard to understand. When you first awaken, you experience a sensation you’ve never felt before, and you feel a strong sense of liberation.
“Pure magic… demon king, or perhaps…”.
Anelis muttered incomprehensible words.
“…I wish it would end already.”
Artina intervened between me and Anelis.
Anelis immediately backed away at Artina’s words.
Artina responded by turning her body, as if to say she was letting Anelis go.
“Then, is it over now?”
I nodded at her question.
“It’s a success, in a way.”
We’ve prevented the side effects for now. There’s no need to interfere with her mind immediately…
“I’ve secured some of her power, at least.”
I’ve seen the process of its creation, and above all, the foundation is the magic I provided.
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Therefore, analysis is possible to some extent. I think there’s still a small possibility left.
I was thinking of choosing whether to slightly influence her mind depending on Anelis’s future actions.
“Since it ended faster than expected, let’s start Balduer’s awakening right away.”
As Anelis got up, I stopped her.
“There’s no need to hold back, let’s train. We’ve obtained a new artifact and possibilities, so we don’t have time to waste.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
As long as Cereo remained by her side, there was no problem.
“It seems that Cereo’s resistance has decreased significantly lately.”