The Villain Necromancer Awakens in a Game Novel
“Aigoo, Oppa!”
“Sob… sob…”
The underground central station in the southern part of Loutown. Around one of the prisons, six or seven adult men huddled together, weeping.
“How could this happen…”
“We should have protected our leader better…”
Every person present bore large and small scars on their bodies.
A guard nearby clicked his tongue in exasperation.
“What the… why are the thugs making such a fuss?”
“Our leader is different from those other thugs!”
“A thug is still a thug. What kind of thug is he?”
“Our leader never steals money from ordinary citizens!”
A thug with a black thorn tattoo on his shoulder shouted.
Blackthorn.
He had once been a gangster under Kindorhan, beaten by him and then forced into his gang.
“Our leader only ever robbed filthy rich people and rival gangs!”
“That’s right! What do you know!”
“You… you brats… shut up?”
The soldiers raised their weapons and shouted back.
The situation was on the verge of exploding.
That was exactly when Fafnir arrived.
“Move. This is a solo meeting.”
“Who is that guy…?”
“……”
The men who had just knocked them down fell silent in an instant.
“Get out! Get out!”
“Hurry up and get out!”
The soldiers herded the gangsters out, and the prison instantly fell silent.
Only then did Fafnir sit cross-legged in front of the iron bars where Kindorhan was locked up.
“……”
A brief silence followed.
Kindorhan was the first to break it.
“Who the hell are you? What hidden class is this…?”
“From what I heard upstairs, you have to stay in here for at least six months.”
“Making a criminal organization and extorting protection money from civilians.”
“Six months is actually the cheapest option.”
“Six months of full-time connection just to waste time in this prison… I should just delete the character and start over.”
“You even do cashing out now, you bastard…”
Kindorhan gritted his teeth.
It was only natural.
The foundations and organizations he had built so far had been thoroughly dismantled by Fafnir.
Combined with six months of imprisonment, his gaming career here had effectively ended.
The timing was perfect to dangle a bait.
“I have a proposition.”
Fafnir said.
“Isn’t this blackmail?”
Kindorhan’s reply was sharp.
“If you were going to make a proposal, you should have done it before smashing the Umigan gang. Waste of time.”
“You already beat us up and now you want us to join you?”
“Normally when offered a negotiation, you’d weigh the pros and cons, but I can’t accept this one even though I hate it.”
“Don’t waste my time and leave. Or keep wasting it. You came here just to laugh at me anyway.”
Various curses flew out, but Fafnir continued calmly.
“First, let me correct two things. One, I destroyed the Umigan gang while carrying out a quest. The second is that my arrival here wasn’t a waste of time—it was to give you another chance.”
‘A chance?’
“It’s not funny…”
“It is a chance. If I leave, you’ll stay here for six months connected, watching ants, cashing out and starting over from scratch.”
In Horizon, if you commit a crime and get caught, you go to prison.
NPCs might be sentenced to dozens of years or even life.
Adventurers and players weren’t that long, but up to three years depending on the crime.
One year in-game, roughly four months in reality.
But it wasn’t “ordinary” time.
You only counted the time you were actually connected, so you had to sit in prison for four full months with your eyes open, unable to move.
In other words, exactly like four months of idle time, except here you also had to pay monthly fees.
People eventually couldn’t stand the frustration and deleted their characters over and over.
“Hmph… so what do you want?”
“I told you, let’s make a deal.”
Fafnir continued.
“If you go on like this, you’ll end up as the boss of some small gang at best. You won’t be able to compete with a real big mafia or crime syndicate.”
“That’s…”
“Even someone at my level can’t beat you, so how do you think you can stand up to those guys?”
Fafnir said it calmly.
Of course, every word was a lie.
Kindorhan was going to become the emperor ruling all the night streets of the Horizon world in the future.
‘Kindorhan, I never thought I’d meet someone like this so early.’
Luck-based gamer god.
In the original novel, Kindorhan had remained a major figure even in the later parts.
Even having real influence.
‘Far bigger than Sihyun the Starlight Blacksmith… actually, he’s probably the strongest named player I’ve met so far.’
It wasn’t speculation—it was fact.
His hidden class had extremely high potential.
‘What’s even more surprising is that Kindorhan is only level 70 or so right now.’
Other named players like the Archmage Hope or the Dark Prince Black, the alchemist Seorn, and so on had been leading the charge from the absolute early game.
Even so, despite starting this slowly and only being at this level now, he was on track to stand shoulder to shoulder with them later.
Calculated out, it meant Kindorhan’s growth potential and speed were incredibly high.
‘There’s more than enough value to exploit and recruit him long-term.’
Fafnir was the key point, and to beat Flush he would have to overcome countless enemies and obstacles.
The more allies they had to help, the better.
“Hah.”
Kindorhan snorted.
“You bastard, you’re trying to bribe me, aren’t you?”
“If I’m going to bribe you, I should’ve done it before the Umigan gang was smashed. Waste of time.”
“It’s better for you to come out and do something than stay locked up here for half a year.”
“……”
“Suppose I delete and start over. How can I be sure this time it’ll work?”
“I have the experience…”
“There’s going to be a big event soon. Can you follow it?”
“……!”
Kindorhan’s fur stood on end.
“What… there’s something big? How do you know that…?”
“I’ll tell you if you cooperate. Organization reconstruction, additional information, and growth.”
“Ugh…”
Kindorhan hesitated for a moment and asked.
“How?”
“That’s business secret.”
“What’s the price? If it’s a slave contract or ordering me to join as a subordinate, I’ll delete and start over under any conditions.”
“That won’t happen.”
Fafnir shook his head.
“Let’s make a long-term sponsorship relationship. You’re the host, I’m the sponsor.”
“That’s it?”
“Just two conditions.”
“I’ll listen and decide.”
“One, as sponsor, I’ll provide money to rebuild the organization. You’ll repay the exact amount later.”
“……no interest?”
“No interest. After six months.”
It was a good condition—honestly, too good. Almost like a charity.
“And the second?”
“After repaying the amount in one year, you’ll make one more contract with me.”
“Hah, as expected.”
“The contract is only valid with mutual consent. If it’s too much given the circumstances, you can replace it with a three-year sponsorship maintenance clause.”
“Mutual consent?”
“There will be no external pressure or blackmail. That’s a promise.”
“……”
At this point, it was worth thinking about.
It might involve some loss, but considering he was coming out of this prison, the gain might actually outweigh it.
“Give me time to think.”
Fafnir spread out five fingers in response to Kindorhan’s words.
“Five minutes. I have monthly fees to pay too, so I can’t stay long.”
“……”
Kindorhan crossed his arms.
‘First contract, he’s trying to win my trust.’
Offering a deal to someone with no hair on their head like him could only mean one thing.
The real goal was probably the second condition that would come later.
‘If I refuse, the sponsorship period only gets longer. But even then, offering these conditions…’
A flash of lightning struck in Kindorhan’s mind.
‘Does he really think he can earn my trust in the meantime? He’s certain I’ll accept no matter what?’
A certainty that the proposal in one year would be accepted no matter what.
At this point, he was either a fool with a brain outside his skull or someone who actually had something.
‘At this point, I’m curious what kind of guy this is.’
Kindorhan quickly scanned Fafnir over.
A necromancer, or something else—he didn’t know.
With his current situation, he only had one choice, but he was also curious about the guy himself.
“……”
“I understand. I accept the contract.”
Kindorhan, having made his decision, answered.
Fafnir smiled and took out a scroll.
“Then let’s write this up right away.”
“What is this…?”
“A soul contract. The kind written by black mages and demons.”
Even in Horizon, there were documents that could be called contracts.
There were also cases where organizations followed real-game laws to make contracts like in reality.
But magic-based contracts were far more popular.
The soul contract Fafnir had brought was the highest level of them.
A demonic contract where breaking it meant the character was deleted along with items and reputation.
“The sponsorship amount is three million won in cash. Too little?”
“No, it’s sufficient.”
“Good. Then let’s proceed with the contract.”
“Three million won interest-free loan for six months, free release from prison, and one additional contract after that… Is that all?”
“Yes.”
No condition to grow the organization beyond its current state.
Fafnir didn’t need to say it—Kindorhan would do exactly that anyway.
“Good. The contract is established.”
“I’ll sign too.”
When both men signed, the contract instantly turned into dark blue flames and burned away.
[Signed the Soul Contract.]
-Extract Kindorhan from prison (0/1)
-One-time 300-gold interest-free loan to Kindorhan (0/1)
“The signing is complete.”
Fafnir stood up and waved his hand.
“Then shall I go?”
“……?”
“The deposit was already paid. If you want to stay, you can stay.”
“……!”
‘So he’s certain I’ll accept and came anyway?’
Kindorhan’s expression shifted in a way that was hard to describe.
***
“Leader!”
“What on earth is going on?”
When they stepped out of the prison, Kindorhan’s subordinates greeted him.
“This man paid the deposit.”
“But Leader….”
“This guy…”
“Then, Leader, you made a promise.”
The gangsters hesitated.
Fafnir extended the prepared gold coins.
“Here.”
“……”
“Three… three hundred gold!”
“How did you…?”
A murmur spread through the gangsters.
Ten thousand won per gold—three million won in cash.
“The deadline is six months to one year. If you contact me anytime after six months, I’ll take the money.”
Kindorhan nodded in agreement.
If he deliberately refused to receive the money, the penalty would go to Fafnir anyway.
With the full conditions secured, there was no need to worry about avoiding it like a loan shark.
“No interest, right? I can pay whenever I want.”
“If you don’t like it, I could reflect exchange rates when receiving it.”
“No, no! It’s fine.”
Kindorhan shook his head vigorously.
Fafnir watched the scene and thought.
‘So far, the plan is on track.’
Right now, Kindorhan’s forces and everything else were mostly ruined.
Because of the Gangpae class, if he fell, his skills and money would be confiscated and useless.
A class that could go from shining bright yesterday to bottom-of-the-barrel scum overnight!
But that was exactly why it grew so easily.
‘Almost like a weed—money and you can grow back anytime.’
Probably after six months, he’d become a major figure not just in this district but across the entire underworld.
‘If I can use someone like that, growth will accelerate even more.’
If things continued like this, the underworld wouldn’t be a problem anyway.
Fafnir muttered while watching the departing group.
“Then it’s time to really start exploring the sewers.”
After visiting the junk shops, Fafnir bought all the supplies he needed for exploration.
Knives, ropes, flint and steel, whetstones, repair kits, torches, food—camping gear.
It seemed pointless in a big city, but it was even more necessary here because it was a big city.
‘The sewers here are different from elsewhere, so I have no choice.’
The capital that had existed since the founding of the Thousand-Year Kingdom Baran, where countless rises and falls had piled up on ancient ruins, making the sewers nearly labyrinthine and extremely dangerous.
“Have you heard of the Som Count family? A noble house wiped out unjustly after getting entangled in a coup attempt two hundred years ago. Rumors say their treasure is still in the sewers. Where? Well… one of the beggars in Bellington Street picked up a pearl necklace.”
[Acquired a clue about the Som Count family’s treasure.]
“The sewers aren’t dangerous… about a month ago, in Botris Street, I clearly saw a three-meter-long giant alligator passing through the iron bars.”
[Acquired information about the giant alligator ghost story.]
“Not long ago, soldiers came out of the sewers carrying six skeletons. A few mercenaries probably got lost and couldn’t get out. If you go into the sewers, be especially careful in the south.”
While preparing, he could gather information from the shop NPCs.
Small rumors, but when put together, they were quest clues!
“Then, Hilde-nim…”
Fafnir paused for a moment.
The sewers were dirty and full of lawless people.
If things went wrong, he might have to run alone, so he hesitated to bring along someone close.
“I couldn’t call Vane-nim, who’s out hunting orcs….”
Going alone carried too much risk.
Fafnir, lost in thought, suddenly looked blank.
“Wait, what am I doing?”
He had been hesitating right next to the obvious answer.
Fafnir smiled.
“I’m really stupid. I didn’t realize it until now.”