Chapter 5

༺ 𓆩  Chapter 5  𓆪 ༻

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚  ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

Among Necromancers, there was an old saying.

It meant that although starting something was always the hardest part, once you made up your mind, things would proceed smoothly.

But for Necromancers, who used corpses as mediums, it meant something slightly different — creating a single undead was just that difficult.

Turning it around, it meant...

"Answer my call."

The number of zombies steadily increased.
Yujin moved deeper into the forest, growing more daring.

"Kikiki."

Puhpuk—!!! Puk—!!!

Darts flew from all directions.
They were coated with a paralytic poison made from mixing goblin venom sacs and wild weeds.
Despite being riddled with these darts shooting from all over the underbrush, the zombies advanced without even the slightest flinch.
Poison held no meaning for the dead.

"Kiruk. Rotten corpses. They won't fall."

"Kik, paralysis poison. Doesn't work."

The goblin horde, setting aside their blowpipes, chose to charge instead.
Their speed was much faster than the zombies’, whose movements had been dulled by postmortem rigidity.
Using their small, nimble bodies, they aimed for vital spots like the neck or Achilles' tendon.

"Grrr..."

Meanwhile, the zombies’ actions remained simple—flailing their arms or biting with their teeth.
Their surprising endurance was thanks to Yujin’s exceptional undead crafting skills. If their stats hadn’t doubled, they would have been beaten down by the goblins' swift assaults.

And then—

"Bone Control!"

A long rod, wrapped in a pale light, pierced through a goblin’s chest.
The true strength of a Necromancer.
It was amidst the chaos of the battlefield that Yujin’s power shone brightest.
The goblin's body was flung several meters back, crashing into a rock.
The force imbued into the Bone Control was something a mere goblin could never withstand.

"Come to me."

The bone spear, which had been embedded deep in the rock, shot back with a sharp sound and returned to its caster’s side.
It was a spear crafted using bone as a catalyst.
Although mana was consumed during its firing and retrieval, it was still better than crafting a new one from scratch.

〔If you are my Contractor, I would wish you to maintain dignity even in battle.〕

"I’ve seen plenty of people die trying to cling to dignity, you know?"

〔Battle, by nature, is the clash of wills. Yet your methods are quite unrefined.〕

"Get used to it. This is how Necromancers fight."

A clash of wills?
For a Necromancer, such an idea was a luxury.
They crushed the enemy’s fighting spirit, raised the dead bodies whose lives they had ended, and desecrated even the final dignity of death.
The Constellation would do well to get used to it quickly.
Otherwise, they'd have to keep watching sights they would rather not see.

During his walks through the forest, Yujin had been experimenting with Life Drain whenever he found the chance; through his research, he discovered a few properties about it.

It was similar to how, when food packaging was opened, its expiration date would suddenly plummet.

The optimal time was either immediately after death or while the target was still barely alive.
Once more than a minute had passed after death, the remaining vitality in the body would drop below 10%.

Additionally—
The ability to convert vitality into stats was not infinite.
The more vitality Yujin drained from a goblin, the slower the rate of stat increase became, as if resistance was building up; it seemed there was a limit to how much stats could be boosted from a single species' life force.

‘If I use Life Drain on a different monster, I’ll be able to confirm it for sure.’

The longer the battle dragged on, the more zombies Yujin accumulated.
Meanwhile, the goblin horde was being driven into an increasingly desperate situation.

"Kirruk..."

"Answer my call."

Tsk—

He had filled the undead control limit for his 1-Star rank.

‘Even without the Necromancer penalty, this was inevitable.’

Strictly speaking, this wasn't a class-related penalty—it was a problem tied to mastery level.
He had tested it on the off chance it might be different, but the result was clear.
Click, Yujin clicked his tongue in mild disappointment.

"Kikikik. Let's run away!"

"Kikik. We can't beat the stinking corpses!"

The goblins abruptly turned tail and bolted in the opposite direction from Yujin.

"Chase them."

The zombies, whose stats had nearly doubled, moved almost as fast as the goblins despite their stiffened corpses.
Being undead, they felt no fatigue—the outcome was obvious.
The zombies nearly closed the distance with the fleeing goblins when—

A flaming arrow shot in from ahead, piercing a goblin clean through the nape of the neck.

Keruk! The goblin collapsed with a final death rattle.

"Stop the pursuit."

Yujin ordered his zombies to halt, then cast a sharp gaze through the brush.

"These zombies are my summons. Quit hiding and come out."

"Sorry! We didn't know the prey you were chasing belonged to you, Hunter..."

Three Hunters emerged, pushing aside the dense thicket.
Before Yujin's regression, Necromancers hadn’t become widely known until a few years later, so it was only natural they didn’t recognize him.
Among the Hunters, one who had been wary a moment ago suddenly gasped.

"You’re that person from earlier?"

Ah.

So it was them.

The Hunters who had worried about Yujin just before he entered the Gate.
Two men and one woman.
As he silently stared at the mixed group, Yujin let out a small sigh.

〔Why are you so surprised?〕

‘They’re the Mirror Hunters. I saw them before my regression.’

Yujin’s eyes darkened, sinking deep into thought.

༺ ♰ ༻

Kang Minho and Kang Minyoung.

They were fraternal twins who had gained considerable fame as freelance Hunters before Yujin’s regression.
Hunters who, as if sharing a single body, used ghost-like coordinated techniques to toy with their prey.

‘Those two... they're pretty strong.’

〔Hmm. From what I see, they look pitiful.〕

 ‘That’s because their rank is only at 1-Star right now.’

The Gate’s entry condition was 1-Star.
The future Mirror Hunters were still novices at this point.
Having crossed blades with the twins before his regression, Yujin knew firsthand how fearsome they could become.
Based on his pre-regression experience, excluding Dmitri, they ranked among the top ten most formidable opponents he had ever faced.

But the thing was—

‘There were only two of them.’

Yet now, there were three Hunters standing before him.

That explained why he hadn't recognized them immediately at the Gate’s entrance: there had been an extra member with them.

A Hunter standing awkwardly at the rear, looking uncomfortable.

Seemed to be a magic-user... but even after racking his brain, Yujin couldn't recall ever seeing them before.

〔In that case, eliminating a future enemy early could be a solution.〕

‘Why would I kill them?’

〔Didn’t you just say they were troublesome opponents?〕

‘I only said they once received a commission to assassinate me. It wasn't really a personal grudge.’

His only connection to the Mirror Hunters was professional—hunter and target; their relationship had simply been shaped by a dramatic contract, not personal hatred.

‘Actually, this works out nicely.’

〔How so?〕

 ‘I was just thinking I needed some porters.’

If there was one thing Yujin could be sure about, it was the Mirror Hunters’ "trustworthiness."

‘They became Hunters to earn money, didn’t they?’

A perfect trait for reliable partners.
Even though there was an unknown member now tagging along, it hardly mattered.
At least the two he remembered were trustworthy, based on everything from his past life.
They were Hunters who, once they made a contract, would honor it no matter what.

"You guys. I have a job for you."

"All of a sudden... What kind of job?"

"You’ll be in charge of harvesting mana stones. The split will be 8:2."

Mana Stones.
Since the Great Cataclysm, they had become the essential material driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution based on magic; they were lodged inside monsters’ hearts, forming a major pillar of Hunter income.

‘It’s not the kind of work you can entrust to zombies.’

Harvesting mana stones required a certain level of delicate skill.
It involved slicing open a monster’s chest and extracting the mineral lodged inside.
Handling every monster corpse after a battle would be inefficient.
Combining Life Drain and anatomical work would slow down hunting tremendously.

"I’ll take care of all the hunting. You just focus on making money."

It was a pretty generous offer, wasn’t it?
At Yujin’s blunt proposal, the small, 1-Star Hunter team named [Younglings] couldn't completely hide their flustered expressions.

༺ ♰ ༻

Members of the [Younglings] team glanced nervously at the zombies, their faces pale.

"Brother, what is that person even saying?"

"Senior Kang, I've never even heard of a Hunter who controls zombies."

Eyes as lifeless as dead fish, mouths hanging open with drool dribbling out—
They were lower undead, mere zombies.
But standing face-to-face with monsters that moved solely on hatred for the living sapped one's strength simply by being in their presence.

"Let's do it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Doesn't seem like he's lying."

Kang Minho was quick to assess the situation.

If Yujin had intended to attack the [Younglings] team, there would’ve been no need for such an offer in the first place.

‘Harvesting mana stones is a hassle. He’s trying to dump the tedious work onto us.’

After a brief exchange and assessing the situation, Kang Minho was able to read Yujin's intentions clearly.
A judgment sharp enough to someday earn him the title [Mirror Hunter].
Though he couldn't completely suppress his trembling heart, Kang Minho forced himself to speak calmly.

"That ratio... Are we the 8?"

"2."

"How about 5:5? Even split? We'd only be getting about 1.7 each otherwise."

"7:3. Any more than that and you can go your own way."

"Understood."

When Kang Minho accepted Yujin’s terms, Lee Sungmin glanced uneasily toward the zombies.

"Senior... are we seriously okay with this?"

A complaint slipped out in a whisper.
The zombies, stiffened by rigor mortis, moved awkwardly, yet somehow still seemed far more threatening than the goblin horde they had faced earlier.

"Trust me. If he wanted to attack us, he would've done it already."

Kang Minho replied with composed assurance.
This man had entered the Gate with no proper gear, only his bare body.
That kind of confidence in one’s abilities wasn't baseless.
Following Yujin’s lead would likely earn them far more money than usual.

Thirty minutes later—

"Is that Hunter trying to wipe out the entire goblin population?"

"Think of it as finally hitting the jackpot."

An hour later—

"Man, they just keep coming. The Ancient Garden really isn’t popular, huh?"

Yujin laughed brightly at the goblins popping out from everywhere.
Meanwhile, the [Younglings] team looked like they had aged twenty years.

"...Huff... Huff..."

"Please, just kill me... I just wanna rest..."

Kang Minho shook his head at the sight of his teammates collapsing.

‘I knew he wasn’t normal, but...’

An astonishing pace of slaughter.
Without giving even a second to catch their breath, he continued butchering goblins.
The [Younglings] team could hardly keep up.

"Wouldn't it be better to take a short break?"

"Even here, there are mana stones just lying around."

"..............."

"I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. It’s just, you know, there’s money lying on the ground."

Yujin grinned slyly.
To the [Younglings] team, that smile was more terrifying than anything else.

"Take your time, no rush. Relax and go at your own pace."

And even as he spoke, the pile of goblin corpses grew, one by one, into a grotesque mountain.

༺ ♰ ༻

Yujin threw the dried-up goblin corpse onto the ground.

"This one's the last one around here."

Three hours spent hunting.

In that short time, his stats had risen significantly.

A total of 21.2 points gained!
Converted into level terms, it was roughly equivalent to reaching Level 4 through Life Drain alone.

"Wow."

A cry of joy slipped from his lips.

Even Yujin, seasoned with all kinds of experiences from before his regression, found it hard to suppress his amazement.

And this was without even investing any bonus stats gained through leveling up.

‘I wonder just how strong I can become.’

Inside Yujin’s mind were all the experiences and knowledge from his past life.
He had already plotted to exploit the flaw of a Constellation that sought worship and had established himself as the one who "defied death."
Every time he grew stronger, the list of new divine spells he could claim expanded, stirring a burning excitement deep within him.

Although the efficiency of absorbing life force from goblins had gradually diminished through repetition, he felt no disappointment.
To want even more would have been the height of greed.

As he relentlessly slaughtered goblins and pressed forward, he eventually reached the edge of the forest.

"Uh, Mr. Hunter."

"Call me Yujin."

"If you cross the boundary, it will be the domain of the boss monster—the Goblin Shaman."

"If you want to back out, do it now. I'll still pay you for the work you've done so far."

Coming this far into the forest was partly to level up,
but also because to trigger the hidden element in [Ancient Garden], he needed the blood of the shaman.

"Really?"

Lee Sungmin responded with a bright face.

Even if they turned back now, they would be entitled to a settlement amounting to tens of millions of won.

In just three hours, they had slain over a hundred goblins—
even receiving 10% was a massive profit!

The difficulty level of the Goblin Shaman ranked among the highest in 1-Star Gates. Backing out without risk would still be a major win.

However—

"We'll follow."

Kang Minho answered in a clear, unwavering voice.

‘If I stick with Mr. Yujin, I’ll earn far more.’

It was a conviction.

[Ancient Garden] was a dungeon limited to 1-Star rank.
How many Hunters could wield such overwhelming strength at this level?

Mana stone harvesting was trivial compared to that.

‘I must follow him—no matter what.’

Yujin, catching that thought, let out a small laugh and sent the zombies ahead.

A crowd of goblins had gathered in the plaza ahead.

Unlike the ones they had fought so far, these goblins were fully armed — around seventy of them, clustered together.

Behind them, a goblin adorned with all manner of bones sat on a throne.
Looking closer, even its jewelry was made entirely of bone; the staff it held was black, but from a distance, it was impossible to tell what material it was crafted from.

This was the boss monster of the southern region of [Ancient Garden] — the Goblin Shaman.

"Behold, a foolish human has come."

"Kikik, and a foolish goblin, thinking sheer numbers will save him."

"What?"

"And what’s with that? You got some bone fetish or something? You reek worse than the zombies."

Yujin pinched his nose with his right hand.

"You insolent human!"

"Insolent goblin. You can’t even speak properly, and you think you can win with that filthy mouth?"

The Goblin Shaman opened and closed his mouth in frustration, at a loss for words, before leaping to his feet.

"Bring that human to me—force him to kneel!"

"Kikikit!"

The goblin troops surged forward, eager to obey.

It was always the ones who lost the verbal fight who resorted to violence first.

"Chew him up, bones and all."

The instant Yujin’s command dropped, twenty zombies howled and charged with ferocious glee.

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