Surviving as a Genius Necromancer in the Game

Chapter 2

『 Translator – Divinity 』

"Ah... Th-Thank you."

The mercenary reflexively bowed his head, then looked at my attire with a puzzled expression. It was because my appearance was that of a necromancer, no matter who looked at it.

Why is a necromancer...?

Necromancers, regardless of whether a death was unjust or not, would rejoice at the appearance of a corpse. Yet, here was a necromancer offering condolences, which naturally led to a puzzled look.

'Why can't they just have a decent image? Why do they act like such maniacs...?'

I clicked my tongue inwardly. The mercenary unloaded the corpse from the horse and asked the village headman,

"I will pay you. But before that... is there no priest?"

"Our village is not that big..."

"Then who will console the soul of my friend...?"

"I will do it."

"...The necromancer?"

"Yes."

I whispered softly, in a voice only the mercenary could hear.

"Like other priests, I can also prevent it from becoming a ghoul or a skeleton."

However, the mercenary didn't believe me after hearing my words. Instead, he looked at me and the village headman with suspicion. The headman seemed to have noticed what I said and had an expression of relief.

"Ah! If it's the soul consoler, we can trust him!"

"...Soul consoler, you say?"

"Yes. He is a famous person in our village. The soul consoler! The one who consoles souls! The corpses he consoles do not become ghouls or skeletons!"

While he didn't say much when it was just me, he spoke of me as if I were a great necromancer to the mercenary.

Well, it wasn't strange. If I got the job, the headman would receive a small commission.

"...Alright. But I want to watch from the side."

"You are welcome to watch."

Because he wouldn't know what I was doing anyway.

Swooooooosh–

As the rain continued to get heavier, we took shelter under the large tree in the village.

"Shall we do it right here, without going far?"

"...Alright."

The corpse was placed respectfully under the tree.

As if in prayer, I put my hands together and bowed my head twice.

"May you go to a good place."

After finishing my words, I placed my hand on the corpse. As I uncovered the cloth, a pale face was revealed. The skin, devoid of any vitality, indicated that he was completely dead.

Swooooooosh–

The relentless downpour continued. Raindrops pitter-pattered onto the corpse.

And then... a whitish form slowly revealed itself above the corpse.

— Can you... hear my voice?

A gloomy voice, not even masked by the heavy rain, reached my ears.

— If you can hear me... avenge me... Kill the monsters that killed me... Fuck, I haven't even held a woman's hand yet...

[The soul of the low-level mercenary 'Bell' requests a 'trade'.]

[Kill the red-tattooed goblins near this area within 15 days.]

[Reward: Dagger Mastery (Low-level), Silent Steps (D).]

[When you later turn the low-level mercenary 'Bell' into an undead, 100% of his living stats will be applied to the undead 'Bell'.]

A message that only I could see appeared.

Not only could I obtain skills and talents to become stronger, but the undead themselves could also retain all of their strength from when they were alive, making them stronger than other undead.

This meant I could completely compensate for the weaknesses of a necromancer.

Only I could!

And that wasn't all.

'Even with a single low-level undead, I can sufficiently hold my own.'

The moment a being becomes undead, it loses the strength it had in life.

At least 50%, and as much as 80%.

Because of this, it was impossible for a single low-level undead to be truly effective.

Therefore, the mindset was to compensate for the lack of quality with quantity...

But with this ability, I could secure both quality and quantity.

'I won't need to bother finding companions.'

When playing Rafnus, companions were essential.

If you played as a warrior, you needed companions like mages or priests to attack from behind, and tanks to block fatal attacks from the front.

But what if I could replace them with undead?

'Of course, there's no need to worry about betrayal or anything like that.'

Clearing this game wouldn't be an impossible task at all.

[Trade accepted.]

[There is currently 1 trade contract in effect.]

'First, I need to hunt the red-tattooed goblins.'

Now, the problem was this.

How do I hunt them?

Jack was here, but he was the type of mentor who only stepped in when I was in danger.

In my current state, I needed one usable undead or a tank.

The most likely candidate was Bell's corpse...

—My son, respect the dead. Just because they have passed away doesn't mean the karma they accumulated in life disappears. You shouldn't simply label them as 'corpses.' Always remember this.

A funeral director is a profession that exists to mourn death with the bereaved families and to send off the deceased in a beautiful, clean, and comfortable way.

As someone who dreamed of such a profession, I felt a bit uneasy about turning a corpse into an undead and using it however I pleased.

If my father, the devout funeral director, saw this, he would slap me. Perhaps even my great-grandfather would rise from his grave and slap me.

'But it can't be helped.'

Devout or not, I need to survive first, don't I?

For some, this devotion or professional pride might be more important than life, but not for me.

I would fulfill the grudges, but that was only because it was beneficial to me, not because I was a funeral director.

Suppressing the mindset I should have as a funeral director for a while, I fell into deep thought.

'How can I use Bell's corpse as an undead?'

More precisely, how can I get 'permission'?

'The problem here is that the difficulty is higher than the corpses I've seen so far.'

I understood. The grudges of the corpses I had contacted so far only offered talents in exchange for resolving them, but this one offered skills as well.

After a moment of contemplation, I simply gave up on thinking. No answer would come from pondering like this, so it was best to ask directly.

I asked the mercenary a question.

"Mercenary, I see that this person seems to have died unjustly. He is full of resentment. It wouldn't be strange if he suddenly rose from the grave. How did he die?"

The mercenary's facial muscles twitched subtly.

"...While passing through this area, we were attacked by a group of goblins. The goblins with red tattoos were strangely strong. So, in the end... I was the only one who survived, and Bell died."

Red-tattooed goblins!

They were monsters familiar to me.

'Is it a tutorial boss?'

The tutorial boss of Rafnus.

It seemed this mercenary ended up dying because I didn't kill it.

"Then, to avenge him, we need to kill that goblin."

"...What do you mean?"

"I'm not a priest. I'm a necromancer. To console a soul and prevent it from suddenly becoming a ghoul or skeleton, the cause of their death needs to be resolved."

At my words, the mercenary's facial muscles twitched once more.

"...Just bury him."

"But I'm telling you, if you do that, he'll become an undead! Don't you know about natural undead? I'm saying the problem needs to be solved."

"What soul consoler, my ass. You're just an ordinary necromancer. Hey, get away from my friend's corpse. I know what you're going to say. You're going to ask me to hand over my friend so you can turn him into an undead, aren't you?"

'No way. How did he know?'

Since I had already said I would prevent him from becoming a ghoul or a skeleton, I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud, yet he guessed it.

Of course, I didn't deliberately confirm or deny it.

But the mercenary seemed to have reached his own conclusion, and said with a stern expression,

"Get out of here!"

I bowed my head and stepped back.

I didn't expect him to refuse to this extent...

Well... then there's no other choice.

'I'll have to steal it.'

It's time to become a grave robber... no, a necromancer.

♱⋆☠︎︎⋆♱

On days with heavy rain and thick fog, it's naturally hard to see.

Thanks to this, I was able to secretly steal Bell's corpse.

In the shallow grave where Bell's corpse was buried, I placed the corpse of the young man I had received for ghoul practice today.

'It's fortunate they have similar builds.'

There was no profession better at burying and digging up corpses than a necromancer. Thanks to this, I was able to switch the corpses quietly without leaving a trace.

Of course, it might be discovered tomorrow.

So, if I was going to do it, I had to finish everything today.

'Actually, I think I'll have to steal it permanently.'

An undead with 100% of its living stats!

This was something any necromancer would absolutely have to obtain.

"You're crazy. Thinking about switching corpses already."

Jack, who had come to the forest with me, said with a grin.

"But being crazy also means being a great necromancer! Indeed. If you're a necromancer, you shouldn't hesitate when you can get a good quality corpse."

It seemed Jack had experienced this kind of thing many times.

Is this a characteristic of necromancers?

Jack continued, maintaining his smile.

"You did very well. However, you won't be able to use the name 'soul consoler' anymore."

"Why?"

"You stole a corpse, didn't you? How can you be called a soul consoler when you're not a good person?"

"Does a soul consoler have to be good?"

"Huh?"

"Consoling the soul is enough, isn't it?"

It was good to have a good modifier attached, but I wasn't going to be taken advantage of because of it.

Just enough to make people look at me and say, 'Oh, I can trust him.'

Anything more than that would only hinder clearing the game.

'I'll also get rewards for consoling souls. That's enough.'

Jack burst into laughter.

"Hahaha. It will be something to see when your name spreads later. Well, it's not bad. Necromancers with good reputations tend to get a lot of work."

I nodded vaguely. Then, Jack said with a serious expression,

"But keep this in mind. A necromancer with a good reputation is easily used. Many people will constantly try to test and use you, to see if you're just wearing a mask or if you're truly a benevolent soul consoler. Always be careful, okay?"

This was advice from a mentor to his junior.

When I nodded again, my mentor smiled in satisfaction.

I looked at the ghoul walking beside me.

Grooooan...

There was a large wound on the side of the ghoul named Bell.

I wanted to fill it with mana, but whether it was because the wound was too big or because the corpse was strong in life, it wasn't working well.

And another message about the ghoul.

[This corpse is 'eligible' for 'promotion' from Ghoul to Warrior Ghoul.]

[However, your proficiency is low!]

[Required proficiency: 10%]

[Current proficiency: 5%]

[Currently, 'Bell's' stats are applied at 50% of his living stats.]

The low-level mercenary Bell was a warrior who had increased his strength through one level-up.

In Rafnus, there was a level system and experience points. By accumulating these and leveling up, it was possible to invest in stats at places like temples.

However, right now, it was halved. At best, he'd probably be able to deal with ordinary goblins.

Keeek!

Just in time, a goblin appeared through the curtain of rain.

It didn't look like a scout; it seemed to be lost in the downpour.

I quietly gave the ghoul an order.

"Kill that goblin."

Grooooan...!

The ghoul lunged at the goblin with a scream.

Keeek?!

The goblin, startled, swung the crude hatchet in its hand at the charging ghoul.

But the ghoul blocked it, grabbed the goblin's neck, and opened its jaws.

The fight between the ghoul and the monster was quite fierce. However, due to the basic difference in size, the goblin was defeated and offered its neck to the ghoul.

Crunch! Crunch!

The goblin was devoured. The moment its breathing completely stopped, experience points filled my body.

'This feeling is always amazing, no matter how many times I experience it.'

Experience points given when killing monsters. I didn't know exactly how much it had filled, but at this rate, it seemed like I would have to kill 10 more to level up.

Jack spoke from beside me in a voice filled with admiration.

"It fights better than I thought? It's a little different from ordinary ghouls. Is it because it's a ghoul that used to be a mercenary?"

"Does that matter?"

"Yes, it does. Mercenaries, even if not as much as knights, are quite good at fighting. I guess it fights so well because of the influence of its past life."

'...I think it's just because of me.'

It was true that it was influenced by its past life, but a ghoul that had only leveled up once wouldn't be that strong. It was even a ghoul, the lowest-ranking undead.

The reason it fought so well was purely due to the influence of my Necromancy skill.

The higher the rank of Necromancy, the higher the intelligence of the undead under my command. This meant they fought better.

Right now it was only one goblin, but what if it hunted more?

'If it could exert 100% of its power in that state...'

Just how much better would it fight?