Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: I'll Become an Arsonist (1)
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After finishing the performance just as I had planned.
The chat window was filled with belated exclamations and congratulations from viewers who had finally come to their senses.
"Be honest and congratulate me. Are these fans or enemies?"
How was it that only one in ten praises was genuine?
Were these guys' hearts twisted like pretzels?
"I chose Japanese as my second language, so I can't respond to nonsense. Anyway, let's start farming first."
"If you have no teeth, you use your gums."
I shouted at the top of my lungs for the miscellaneous workers.
"Zombies, assemble! Time to get back to work if you're done resting!"
The zombies didn't respond!
Even if I yelled in my house, they couldn't hear me anyway.
"They must've all wiped out catching baby spiders. I had auto on and wasn't paying attention."
I ignored the utter bullshit flooding the chat like a seasoned black market vendor auntie.
"No choice. Let's check with the ghosts for now."
"It was cool, right? Thanks for acknowledging it."
"And I'm the owner of that El Ayla."
Tsk tsk, people's dispositions can be so twisted.
I checked the corpses with the ghosts. No drop items.
'I expected no drop items.'
Unlike games, spiders don't drop equipment.
They're not monsters that use weapons anyway.
"No noteworthy drops. Guess I'll dismantle them for magic stones."
Exactly. As a necromancer, I couldn't just leave the corpses behind.
"Anyway, let's test undead conversion first."
To a necromancer, corpses are the drop items.
It's like a swordsman ignoring a dropped sword.
"If it fails, we stop. Duh."
As expected, monsters with too big a level gap couldn't be turned into undead.
If they could, necromancer wouldn't be trash tier.
Forcing it just weakens them proportionally.
"Planning to buy one soon. I'm a newbie hunter who just debuted, so I'm broke. Sponsor me lots."
"Look at these shitstirrers."
Grateful fans' sincerity is making my veins pop.
"Intriguing idea, but I'm not zealous enough about gourmet pursuits to make spider leg sorbet from legs as thick as a person's waist."
Damn it all, that was the core issue with this job.
The chronic limitation of necromancers!
Monster corpses rot if left alone!
Wow! So shocking!
'Fuck.'
A flaw that naturally draws curses and complaints.
And the reason freezers are needed.
'Necromancers struggle to maintain combat power without massive freezers to stockpile undead.'
We create and operate undead.
Preserving corpses from rotting is essential, obviously.
The more they rot or get damaged, the worse it gets.
Stats drop when revived as undead.
'Fortunately, they don't rot while controlled as undead, but revert to plain corpses when the skill ends.'
Plus, storage space is an issue.
Can't store this size at home, right?
'Can't keep summons up forever either.'
If you have a conscience, don't even suggest that.
Keep skills on nonstop? That's like telling me to live in a squat position 24/7/365.
A week? Fuck that, I'd be a corpse in a day.
Taxidermy. I smirked wryly reading the chat.
Viewers say that, but it's not feasible.
There are taxidermy specialists among mage awakeners.
They can preserve monsters close to original form.
'But it'd cost a fortune!'
Money solves everything. Problem is I don't have it.
And even then, limits are clear.
'Heard retaining 40% of original stats is a miracle.'
Exception is ghost-type undead that don't rot.
Undead summonable without corpses.
Summon-type skills, not undead conversion from corpses.
'Convenience crushes regular undead.'
Problem is each has a screw loose.
Summon undead usually fall into three categories.
Rare, weak, or shit cost-performance.
'The ones I can summon.'
El Ayla is obviously unique type.
Specter you can't acquire even if you want.
Little ghosts are weak type, zombies lack punch so shit cost-performance.
Summing up this job's flaws:
1. Limited ways to increase summons.
2. Need methods and storage for preserving corpses.
3. Costs a fortune but not particularly strong.
No wonder necromancer hunters are rare as hell.
Wasn't for nothing I called myself a one-trick cameraman.
"No helping it. If I'd sipped kimchi soup first, 15-min wipe would've been impossible."
"Whoa, can't win against collective intelligence with relativity."
"Yeah. Today's earnings all flying away, fuck."
Gate spoils transport team.
Hunter Association service to transport monster byproducts or magic stones.
'Transport fees gonna bankrupt me, shit.'
Can't have revived big queen spider drive itself to storage on the highway, so spoils from this gate need trucks.
Can't drive trucks to gates every time either.
Transport team essential for byproducts.
'Anyway, test first.'
Whoosh-! Ghosts surrounded Queen Elizabeth.
I activated the skill to undead-ify the corpse.
Undead Rise
(Necromancer skill)
A skill from my necromancer days. Would it work?
I waited half expectant, half worried.
"...Huh?"
And soon after, I was dumbfounded.
For over 30 seconds, blankly sitting in my chair.
Viewers noticed and burst into laughter.
They had reason. No change in the corpse.
Successful undead conversion is visible.
Usually, corpse rises and pledges loyalty.
'...What the fuck?'
If I were an ordinary necromancer, that is.
As I stared blankly, the little ghosts sat on Queen Elizabeth's corpse.
◇ Summons the ferocious queen spider's soul.
◇ Can use web-handling skills.
◇ Original stats preservation: 68%.
Leveled up? Didn't care.
Something far more shocking appeared.
My job is Voodoo Sorcerer.
Necromancer's advanced class from second awakening.
That's why.
My undead creation skill had evolved too.
This wasn't a job that turns corpses into undead.
'...A skill that summons undead via souls?'
Undead in living form, eternally unrotting.
Another moment the world's common sense crumbled.
A rookie streamer hastily ending the broadcast.
Shin Seung-ah blinked as she watched him off.
Disappointed by the failed undead conversion? The ending felt sloppy compared to the brilliant direction.
"...Heh. Heheheh."
The guild master's laugh snapped her out of her daze.
Shin Seung-ah jolted to attention while watching the stream.
Natu Guild Master Jeong So-won was covering her pretty mouth, bursting into laughter.
The stream must've been hilarious.
Shin Seung-ah belatedly stuck out her tongue.
"...There's all kinds of crazy people. No wonder his F-rank hunter name's buzzing among guild members."
Her tone was closer to awe than praise.
Necromancer Yeoto.
Real name Jeong Do-jin. Hunter rank F.
The F-rank hunter who shot to fame with one video.
Jeong So-won giggled, setting down her smartphone.
"Yesterday's stream. I just watched it."
"Oh? You did?"
"Yeah. Like four times."
Then it's not 'just' watched?
Ah, watched it four times right here?
'...Wait. That's an hour spent on the video? By our guild master of all people?!'
Good lord.
Shin Seung-ah gaped in a different shock.
Jeong So-won built an S-rank guild in her twenties.
Founded just a few years ago.
Rose to the top of hunter world in years.
Her annually updated achievements even earned her 'time-rich' praise from foreign mags, like she lives 200 hours a day.
Time isn't lenient only to her.
Means she's ironclad disciplined.
'And such a guild master spent an hour on a newbie hunter's video...!'
Would anyone believe it?
I wouldn't if I heard it elsewhere.
'Is this Yeoto guy really that genius?'
In disbelief, she flapped her mouth.
Chaos settled after a few glasses of water.
"...Whew. Debut day one and his name reaches my ears? Makes sense now."
"Right? Right?"
Jeong So-won bounced in her seat, putting down the phone.
"Pseudonym Yeoto? Fun."
"Real name Jeong Do-jin."
Shin Seung-ah handed over the dossier.
Compiled by office staff.
"Ex-journalist? No wonder he's a pro at toying with people's psyches."
Jeong So-won sparkled at his career.
"Hmm. Still think Yeoto sounds cooler."
"Y-yeah~. Oh? He's a Jeong too?"
Jeong Do-jin shared the guild master's surname.
To the non-question, Jeong So-won waved it off.
"So what. Jeong's a Jeong."
"Doesn't bug you? Must be from long US stay, missing Korean sensibilities."
"Yeah. Hate kimchi too. Eat if told."
Jeong So-won kept chuckling behind her hand.
"Anyway, hilarious. Haven't laughed this hard in ages."
"What's so funny? To me, he just seems... recklessly chasing popularity."
Since Jeong So-won seemed to like this madman-or-lunatic hunter, Shin Seung-ah chose words carefully. Nearly called him a person of interest.
"Nah, not reckless."
Jeong So-won shook her head firmly.
"Calculated gains vs risks before challenging. Can't call that reckless. Bold, maybe."
"Huh? How do you know?"
"No time to explain. About to get busy. Tell you in 30 mins if free later."
Watched an hour-long stream but no time now!
Shin Seung-ah shut her mouth, full of words.
Ring ring-.
Dialing somewhere, Jeong So-won spoke.
"Y'know, I wanted to be born in the cataclysm era."
Random topic shift, context-free.
But common between them.
"Saw the article. Korea's Joan of Arc?"
"Exaggeration by the reporter. Not wanna be hero. Wanted to witness era's upheaval."
While connecting, she fidgeted a cube.
"Yeoto's debut has world buzzing. Broadcasters in frenzy already. Nice they think it's not their job."
"Isn't that good? The cataclysm you've awaited."
"Yeah. Honestly pretty excited."
The eccentric genius painted a cube face with the 2.8 million won lipstick Shin Seung-ah gifted.
Like drawing world's change on the cube.
"Think I'm already this guy's fan."
Ignoring her subordinate's exasperation, Jeong So-won shook the recolored cube with a mischievous grin.