The Saint Who Levels Up Through Necromancy

[Translator - Hestia]

[Proofreader - Kaya]

Chapter 71: Knowing it's a trap means it's no longer a trap. (1)

"Hyung-nim."

"Let's eat first. I'm hungry."

He'd been moving non-stop to check on the Little Runts team.

Even though Yoojin's physical abilities were comparable to hunters of the same rank, using that power was highly taxing.

Growl—

Just then, a loud sound came from Lee Seongmin's stomach.

"Ha, haha. I'm sorry."

"You guys are hungry too, right? Perfect."

Blood splattered on their swords, shields, and armor.

Their faces were also filthy.

The Little Runts team had been hunting monsters in and out of the fog for several days since parting with Yoojin at Ground Zero.

Yoojin looked at them with pity, then took out items he had stored in his subspace pocket and made a simple meal.

"The sweet and sour pork is incredibly crispy."

"The starch concentration and oil temperature are key."

"Hyung. The sauce is amazingly delicious too."

"That's store-bought."

"..."

Ingredients like flour and starch were in the same condition as when he'd put them in.

Even with the Necropolis fog, they probably didn't have the mind to cook in a land where monsters regenerated.

After a cup of instant coffee for dessert, everyone smiled contentedly.

"We were treated like royalty thanks to you, Hyung-nim."

"Always loyal, loyal."

"Sunbae. That's what I should be saying."

A luxury they rarely enjoyed in the land of monsters.

Being full and warm was the best after all.

After confirming the Little Runts team's faces had relaxed, he immediately got to the point.

"You guys have been doing some pretty intense thinking."

At Yoojin's words, the expressions of the group, who had been basking in happiness, instantly stiffened.

"I'm not criticizing you. I'm just impressed."

"We felt we were lacking if we were to work for Hyung-nim's partner."

Kang Minho bit his lip.

"It's okay. I'm not telling you to commit murder."

There would inevitably be situations where they would have to get their hands dirty with someone's blood someday.

However, there was no need for them to carry that burden from the start.

"Your resolve and actions alone are enough."

"Hyung…!"

"Hyung-nim!"

The three's eyes shone brightly.

Ugh.

It was a bit burdensome.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Let's stop with the cheesy talk. Talking so seriously is giving me goosebumps."

Ahem—

Yoojin cleared his throat, changing the atmosphere, and continued.

"We have a job to do, so pack your things."

"What kind of job?"

"Phoenix and Arhan are doing a joint dungeon raid."

The group wore blank expressions.

"Are we joining Phoenix's side?"

"That's right."

"Hyung. Doesn't that mean we're completely making enemies with Arhan?"

"You can already consider us in a confrontational relationship."

Arhan was obsessively fixated on the title of being the number one domestic guild, to the point of madness.

Burying Park Haneul in the border region.

Trapping Jang Miseon before the regression.

It was all for Arhan Guild to eliminate any variables that could cause them to lose their number one spot.

'The representative and co-leader are very cunning people.'

He especially had to be careful of Vice President Baek Seonghyeon.

He was the one who trapped Park Haneul.

It was hard to find any of Arhan's schemes that the co-leader wasn't involved in.

"It's not like we didn't know we were enemies."

"Let's just do it. Whatever."

The Little Runts team finished packing and moved out.

He extracted the corpse of Choi Hyungtae, a Red Spider executive aged in an unhallowed grave, and turned him into a Returnee.

'Here he is.'

After locating Choi Hyungtae among the wraiths circling the belfry, he immediately merged him with the deceased's body.

"So, how much stronger does an undead become when you infuse it with a soul?"

"Lower and mid-grade ones can exhibit their living strength if the synchronization is right."

"Huh. Isn't it common knowledge that even undead of the same rank are slightly weaker in combat than hunters or monsters?"

Kang Minho was right.

It was absurd for a wraith, who had deviated from the natural order, to exert as much power as they had in life.

Only high-ranked undead like liches and death knights wielded power greater than they had in life.

Lower-ranked undead like skeletons and zombies had significantly weaker combat power than their original bodies.

"I'm not going to all this trouble for nothing."

"You're amazing, Hyung-nim."

When creating wraiths, Yoojin amplified the corpse's power with spiritual energy, making them capable of exerting twice their original strength.

An immortal army where the penalties of being a wraith were offset by modification, leaving only the advantages!

"Even if the three of you attacked together, you probably couldn't defeat this one."

Choi Hyungtae, revived as a Returnee.

Due to the crafting buff and the effects of the merging, he possessed stats comparable to Fafnir, who had recently inhabited the Draconian corpse.

Near 4 Star level.

Although he couldn't wield dark aura, his specs were enough to withstand three 3 Star hunters simultaneously.

"Wow. Saying he's worse than a walking corpse is a bit much."

As Kang Minyeong’s fighting spirit ignited, and the Returnee (Choi Hyungtae) reacted to it, emitting killing intent.

"Ugh. Sorry. My bad."

Having heard Yoojin say that even the three of them wouldn't stand a chance, and seeing Choi Hyungtae raise his half-decayed jaw, he immediately backed down.

'Tch. It would be perfect if I could perform the procedure.'

To modify him into a mid-grade undead, simply having bones or flesh like the Armored series wasn't enough.

The Revenant was only craftable due to the special nature of the lower dragonkin corpse.

Like Jo Seungchul, whom he’d recently upgraded, he needed a special catalyst like the [Scrap Metal Filled with Obsession] to perform the procedure.

'Next time, I'll have to ask Shin Joonseok to come on a business trip.'

He also turned Lee Seungyeon into a skeleton mage.

After completing the merging process, he gave instructions to the two undead.

"You two will guard the Necropolis from here."

-Yes. We. Obey.

The miserable end of those who made a necromancer their enemy.

Being used as slaves even after their gruesome deaths was the only choice given to the two.

'As long as One-Eye doesn't come, the defense should hold.'

Even if Fafnir was destroyed, he could be revived thanks to the Life Force Vessel, but if these two were destroyed, it was the end.

Although restoration would be possible if he recovered even their bone fragments.

It would be impossible if One-Eye attacked.

'Even so, I can't abandon the Necropolis now.'

There was a possibility of losing the two undead, but he had to take the risk now.

To truly grow his power, he had no choice but to take risks.

〔Kuhahaha. Even a contractor who knows the future seems to have no answer to the monsters' antics.〕

Kronos's gleeful laughter echoed in Yoojin's mind for no reason.

＊ ＊ ＊

After finishing his business in the border region, he returned to Seoul.

The Little Runts team had sold off all the byproducts and mana stones they’d acquired from hunting over the past few days at the Yongsan Hunter Market.

Yoojin also purchased a few catalysts needed for the undead procedure.

"There's nothing worthwhile."

"There's no place like the Hunter Market in the country."

Everything fell short of Yoojin’s standards, which were based on the future.

After a bit of minor maintenance, the group headed to the Phoenix Guild headquarters.

"You must be the Little Runts team? I'll guide you."

Men and women in dark suits greeted the group as they entered the headquarters building.

"The Little Runts team?"

"That's the team that crushed Song Myeongseok."

"Arhan's rising star?!"

"The hunter industry has been in an uproar because of that team."

"Especially the summon of their priest-type hunter is said to be incredibly strong."

The gazes of the Phoenix Guild hunters passing by focused on the group.

Surprise.

Jealousy.

Envy.

A torrent of mixed positive and negative emotions seemed to engulf the group.

〔These little humans are truly full of emotion.〕

'I'm used to it. These gazes.'

Yoojin stood calmly, looking around with a detached gaze.

As his gaze reached them, the hunters avoided his eyes, pretending not to have seen him.

When you aim for the top, you face such gazes as easily as breathing.

〔A bold mindset. It’s fortunate that he at least possesses this aspect of a hero.〕

What would you do if I wasn't like a hero?

He almost retorted but held back.

〔The little humans the contractor has taken in are just as bold.〕

‘Hmm. They're not being bold, they just don't have time to care.’

Yoojin frowned.

"I didn't expect to be greeted by the Phoenix Guild."

"Wow! This is amazing!"

"I'll never forget today!"

Like country mice seeing Seoul for the first time, the Little Runts team members were busy staring at the guild facilities with sparkling eyes.

'Why is the embarrassment my responsibility?'

Haa—

He let out a sigh.

The group was guided to the guild's senior executive conference room.

"Please tell us if you need anything. We will be waiting outside."

The guides waited by the door.

Only those permitted are allowed inside.

Without hesitation, he pushed the door open, and a familiar woman sitting in the conference room waved her arm broadly.

"Over here!"

The future of the Phoenix Guild.

The next Sword Saint.

Along with several other titles, the hunter Jang Miseon greeted the group with a bright face.

The Little Runts team bowed with awkward expressions.

On the other hand, Yoojin sat down in the opposite seat with a sullen face.

"They're giving us quite the grand welcome."

"It's the Guild Master's wish. He wants to recruit the four of you into Phoenix."

"This raid… He’s not going to demand something outrageous as a condition for participating, is he?"

"Oh, no. If that were the case, we wouldn't have accepted the request in the first place."

Jang Miseon waved her hand dismissively.

"But, has Master Fafnir not come?"

"Are you serious?"

"He's the only one who has given me such great enlightenment."

Yoojin frowned.

"The Phoenix Guild instructors would be disappointed to hear that."

"What can I do? We don't have a star instructor like Master in our guild."

"The pride of being the second-ranked guild in the country will weep."

"Hmph. It's cooler to admit what isn't true."

Perhaps it was fortunate that the Phoenix Guild Master, Kim Youngsoo, was arriving late.

Even if he was known to be a good-natured person, he wouldn't likely stay silent if he heard such words to his face.

"He's busy for the time being, so he can't come."

"Yoojin-nim. Then, what about the gate raid?"

"The Little Runts team and you. The five of us will do it."

It was true that Fafnir was Yoojin's greatest asset.

With various buffs and the Dragonscale Armor, he was comparable to the peak of 5 Star rank.

With the cheat-like traits of [God of War's Eyes] and [Martial Warrior], combined with Fafnir's own skills, he possessed combat power comparable to a 6 Star.

'Even without Fafnir, we can manage the raid.'

Jo Seungcheol, a near 5 Star magic-type undead.

Even with some screws loose, he wielded divine spells with power surpassing his rank.

And finally, Yoojin's main force, necromancy.

He had more than enough power.

"This gate raid… Was it perhaps proposed by Phoenix?"

"The opposite. Arhan suggested it."

"You lost to Song Myeongseok, though."

"Didn't you know? I had a rematch three days ago and won."

Jang Miseon made a V sign with her right hand with a "Tada-".

'So that's why the double dungeon appeared.'

〔It sounds as if Arhan created a variable.〕

'Yes. To be precise, it should be said to be the work of the Romanov family.'

The Mage King, Dimitri.

An absolute being who could twist the world's rules, providence, and even its foundations with only his will.

The patron god Odin imparted numerous pieces of knowledge and arcane arts to Dimitri.

'One of them is a method to artificially merge two gates.'

One thing became certain.

The Arhan Guild had allied with the Romanov family even in this timeline.

'According to the original history, Jang Miseon surpassing Song Myeongseok was supposed to have happened much later.'

Even so.

There existed a 'history' where Jang Miseon died in the double dungeon.

If the same situation occurred despite the difference in timing…

Wouldn't it naturally lead to the conclusion that someone was controlling the variables?

As he was organizing his thoughts—

Creak—

A middle-aged man with a sturdy build, slightly under 170cm tall, entered through the opened door.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation."

"G-Guild Master of Phoenix! It's an honor to meet you!"

As if by appointment, the three stood up from their seats and bowed.

On the other hand, Yoojin only gave a moderate bow.

"You don't have to be so formal. If you're Miseon's friend, you're like my nephews."

"Friends…?"

"What's wrong? We agreed to become friends while sparring."

Jang Miseon loudly interjected, covering up his trailing words, due to Kang Minho's awkward expression.

Ah.

Are we participating in the raid because we're introduced as… friends?

'…Kim Youngsoo. He actually accepted such a ridiculous excuse.'

Even before his regression, when they had joined forces to bring down the Arhan Guild, he knew that Kim Youngsoo was a decent person.

Even so.

He actually accepted Jang Miseon's insistence that they were friends and included them in the gate raid team.

'He wouldn't have done it without some calculation.'

The news of the Little Runts team defeating Song Myeongseok had already spread throughout the hunter industry.

Including them in the raid was probably a kind of insurance for him.

"Hahaha! Please help Miseon well. For tomorrow's raid, it's more important to return safely than to win, so don't overdo it!"

It was hard to believe such a powerful voice came from such a small frame.

…He wasn't just good-natured; he might just be a fool.

Yoojin pressed his temples with his fingers.

[Translator - Hestia

[Proofreader - Kaya]