The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 64

Even so, it was best not to let our guard down. I told Baldur to return with the trainees and keep an eye on the sky.

The first thing I did after leaving the sky surveillance to them was to set up the traps that Mutr had made.

The easy way would be to raid the Giant Ent’s lair, but that would require a large-scale movement, so it was put on the back burner.

It was not yet time to rest easy, so I didnt want to make any large-scale movements.

There was a high possibility that traces would be left behind.

Instead, what we did was to hunt directly and also slaughter other monster villages.

‘Those guys also have food.’

They don’t store it in large quantities, but they don’t have absolutely nothing.

When we were commissioned by the previous lord, it was a method that we couldn’t possibly do because the scale was too large, but now that we only had to feed about twenty people, it was entirely possible.

The main target was goblins.

Their diet overlaps the most with humans.

Plants or fruits, and the things that could be hunted were the things that human-like beasts could also eat, so they were the easiest.

In particular, since they were weak, they also knew the habitats of edible grass or fruits, so after finding that out, if we annihilated their village, it would create a stable food source, so it was a decent method.

‘It’s a bit strange that monster looting is a survival strategy.’

Atina made a slightly bewildered expression at my words that we would track and loot goblins, but soon she agreed as if she understood.

“I understand. If that’s what needs to be done, then we must do it. Tia definitely said that she was getting impatient.”

“Right now, with us, even orcs can be looted.”

Kayla had definitely grown, and the number of undead had increased, and Atina was also in a situation where she could do her part.

Because of that, Kayla’s words were not wrong, but I shook my head.

“What goblins eat is closer to what humans eat than what orcs eat.”

In the past, orcs were beings that should not be touched, but now they had become beings that we didn’t even bother with because they were inefficient.

Honestly, it was a bit emotional.

After deciding on a hunting target, thinking about the power structure that would have changed due to the monster wave, and thinking about making a new map of the area, I suddenly had a regretful thought.

‘In terms of pioneering, there must have been people who mainly gathered things… .’

There must have been places that only they knew. But they were all dead, so there was no way to find out.

‘I’d like to include this on the map as well.’

If we knew where fruits were mainly located, where edible grass grew, and so on, it would be a great help in improving our food situation.

Even if the power structure of the monsters changed, this was something that wouldn’t change easily.

After exploiting the first goblin village that we found because it was urgent, we spent several days making a new map of the area.

While doing so, we also hunted any beasts that got caught in traps or caught our eyes, and secured the stability of the underground dungeon.

Even if the animals ran away, Kayla could chase them down, so there were no difficult parts.

On top of that, we discovered a Giant Ent’s lair that had newly settled down in this vicinity, and thanks to wiping them all out, we were able to secure a bit of additional food.

There were less than twenty of them, but since our numbers were small, it was a number that could not be ignored.

“They still haven’t shown up today.”

“You’ve worked hard, Thallus.”

Thallus was one of the three men who were receiving combat training from Baldur.

The three of them were named Thallus, Meleis, and Virgil, and since they had received combat training even before the monster wave occurred, they had decent skills.

Of course, none of them knew how to use mana, and their skills were not enough to defeat even one of my skeletons, but they were still not meaningless because of the nature of my underground dungeon, which lacked combatants.

‘Normally, they’ll be doing escort work when the residents go outside, and in case of emergencies, they’ll just be buying time.’

That was enough.

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“It’s gotten to this point; Don’t you think they’ve just given up?”

At Atina’s words, I nodded my head in agreement.

“It does seem that way. There haven’t been any signs of him lately.”

Now that this is out of the way, I can gradually start making this area my domain.

‘Should I start working on the Undead’s Land that I’ve been putting off?’

I could see that the grudge left on the land was decreasing over time, but I couldn’t move recklessly, so I had no choice but to endure it.

‘… But that place over there seems to be getting worse.’

The place where many of the townspeople were executed.

It looks like the Ghost Gate I originally thought of will appear there.

“I think it’s safe to say that he has given up.”

Kayla’s opinion was added.

“… Well, since the monsters around here have started to notice our existence, we can’t dawdle any longer.”

Just as we had scouted the surroundings and made a new map, the monsters that had been using these surroundings as a food storage had noticed us taking control here.

That’s why I’ve been thinking that we should start making proper defenses.

‘I dislike anything bothersome.’

Upon checking, I saw that the monsters in the vicinity were a few goblin tribes, two mid-sized orcs, a hobgoblin tribe that had settled in the place where the town used to be, and bugbears that had settled a little further inside, turning the area that used to belong to humans into the territory of monsters due to the monster wave.

I had already dealt with the giant ent that had tried to settle in, and the giant mantis was so far out of my sphere of influence that I didn’t bother with it.

‘In particular, one of the mid-sized orcs is likely a branch of a large-scale orc tribe.’

This is a rare occurrence.

There are cases where they become independent from the herd but still maintain a connection to their original tribe.

If there is a split or friction, there could also be friction with the large tribe.

‘It’s a slightly weaker grudge than the ones I’ve fought directly, but orcs don’t let go of grudges easily.’

That’s why I need to prepare in advance before it becomes a nuisance.

In effect, the opinions of the three people who could be considered the highest authority in the underground dungeon had come together, so we decided to create the Undead’s Land.

I said to Tharus,

“The alert status ends here. For the time being, entering above ground is prohibited.”

“I shall relay the message.”

I’m going to create the Undead’s Land. I don’t know about after it’s created, but during the creation process, a huge amount of magic would be released, which could have a negative effect on humans.

That’s why I am prohibited from entering above ground for everyone except Nana, Kayla, and Athena.

‘I’ll put it to sleep once it’s complete, so it doesn’t matter.’

Athena and Kayla will be doing the hunting anyway.

I had no choice but to make the two of them do it without the help of others for the time being, which would be quite bothersome.

Fortunately, the two of them understood.

“Safety first.”

“I wanted to let you focus on your training, so I feel a little sorry.”

“It’s okay. Like Athena said, safety is more important. Besides, it’s helpful to move around outside like this sometimes.”

Since they had focused solely on training until they started exploring, the two of them said that it was fine.

Mutre was a little disappointed.

“It’s a shame. If we had materials from above ground, we could decorate the underground dungeon a little more lavishly.”

I could help with that.

I called Valdur.

“Yes, Master. “Did you call for me?”

“You should call me Inha too.”

Besides Baldur, most of the residents of the underground dungeon who were originally slaves called me by my given name.

Some would call me Mage, but most called me by my given name.

Of course, the only one who called me by my name alone was Athena, while the other residents added “nim” to it.

Only Athena and Baldur called me Master.

“This is easier.”

It was the kind of stubbornness that reminded me of the village chief of Green Forest Village.

He’s probably a corpse by now.

I shook my head and said.

“Mutrue said he covets the materials on the surface. Since you are a mana user and are less affected by Magi’s influence, go up to the surface periodically and bring back the necessary items.”

After solving Mutrue’s problem simply, I stopped most of my research and began living on the surface.

Fortunately, I had Kuman’s camping artifact, so there was no inconvenience in my life.

Kayla offered to stay by my side, but I declined.

“Even you could be affected if you’re exposed to Magi for a long time.”

Kayla backed down at my words.

I created a boundary to prevent Magi from escaping over a wide area, and continued to release Magi within it.

It would affect some parts of the underground, but it wouldn’t have any effect on my dungeon, which was quite deep.

The wandering vengeful spirits grew thicker as they were affected by Magi.

Magi saw into the corpses of humans and monsters, and at night, the screams of vengeful spirits could be faintly heard.

I scattered the vengeful spirits that were trying to become earthbound spirits, and steadily increased the density of Magi so that it could permeate the entire ground.

Thanks to that, the staff also became a little livelier.

It was clearly visible that it was absorbing the surrounding Magi, so it delayed the creation of the Land of the Undead, but it didn’t stop it.

‘Because everyone avoids it due to the ominous nature of Magi and vengeful spirits.’

I thought they might charge in with their eyes turned, but I was wrong.

Ten days, a fortnight, a month.

As expected, it took a long time, and when the ground had absorbed enough Magi, I took my time to arrange the Magi.

Just pouring Magi on it doesn’t complete the Land of the Undead.

This was also clearly a part of black magic, so preparation was necessary.

‘I thought I’d carve a magic circle, but… ‘

Using a magic circle as a kind of aid would have made it easier to complete the Land of the Undead, but with the staff becoming quite powerful, it didn’t seem necessary.

I arranged the Magi meticulously, which was difficult to imagine in normal times.

‘It feels like building a stronghold.’

It looks like ordinary land in normal times, but it reveals its true nature the moment an unauthorized person invades and harms the dungeon, the dungeon’s first line of defense.

[Land of the Dead]

As I uttered the magic’s official name, which is also its activation word, I could feel the Magi in the area fluctuating.

The staff amplified the Magi strongly, and the Magi in the area reacted to my magic, executing a scale of magic that I had never seen before.

It wasn’t Magi that could be moved by mere 3-class magic.

However, with the long preparation period, the incredible level of perfection that couldn’t be believed to be 3-class, and the variables such as resentment and fear spread across the land, a huge amount of Magi reacted, and the result was.

Thud, thud.

Thud, thud.

Groooooooooan…

-Hahahahahaha.

The ground shook slightly as if an earthquake had occurred.

Of course, it wasn’t an earthquake.

It was just a reflex feeling I had when countless corpses started moving simultaneously.

“Wh-what the heck is going on?!”

Artena and Kyla, who had just returned from their hunting, were started by the sight of the endlessly rising undead.

They shut their mouths after seeing the undead that rose, bowing to me.

“How many are there? There must be hundreds… ?”

Artena spoke, unable to hide her bewilderment.

“Some will collapse soon. There are just over a hundred that are permanently bound to the ground and moving.”

Unfortunately, that’s all I can do with my current level.

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d even be able to get a hundred at first, but the staff was able to recover some of their strength in the meantime, allowing me to bind more undead to the ground than expected.

‘It’s unfortunate that most of them are skeletons or zombies.’

Still, I think I got the best results I could at my current level, since some of them are Skeleton Warriors or Archers.

“Hm? That’s… ”

I looked to one side, slightly surprised.

‘A specter?’

I shouldn’t be able to create specters at my current level.

However, there was a specter that had been fully formed, and it had even been incorporated into the Land of the Dead.

‘… The grudge… must have been extraordinary.’

If it had become a banshee, it would have been quite powerful, I imagine.

“… Success.”

I think I’ve achieved the best possible results with this.

If my level had been higher, I would have carved a magic circle and used magic.

However, if I had done that, my body wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

To be honest, I’m almost completely exhausted right now.

‘I’m tired.’

This is magic that took me a whole month to prepare. Even for me, I need a break.

Kyla noticed my appearance and spoke.

“… “You look tired.”

“Yeah, I’m exhausted. This is magic that took me a month to prepare, and my body is on the verge of collapsing.”

Still, the results were so good that I didn’t feel as tired.

“… This is truly amazing. So even a necromancer can do something like this.”

In the meantime, Artena had been busy examining the undead in the vicinity.

“Even with this, I wouldn’t be able to infiltrate a dungeon, would I?”

“I think it would be difficult for me too, to be honest.”