Polite Speech Slipping Out Unconsciously!

Polite speech slipping out unconsciously! Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes. Hello."

"Ha... haha..."

"And thank you."

"...Huh? For what?"

"I'll make good use of your undead."

"Wait... wait?!"

"All-out attack!"

When Tae-hyun raised his hand and shouted, the undead army waiting behind him let out a roar and charged.

"Death! Death! Death!"

Led by the Death Knights, the undead warriors lunged forward, completely shattering the assassination squad's formation.

"Silver arrows! Get the silver arrows out!"

"Priests, buff the bows!"

"There's no time for that! Just cast Turn Undead right now!"

"There are t-too many... It's impossible!"

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

"Graaagh... It hurts! It hurts!"

Even in the chaos, the assassination squad gathered in small groups to shoot down the oncoming undead, but that was their limit.

"Scatter and fight! Keep your distance!"

"There are too many of them! They're on our flanks and behind us!"

Crunch!

"Aaargh! I got bitten!"

"I'm here too!"

"Aaaagh!"

Ghoul warriors bit down indiscriminately, and Death Knights swung their swords, crushing armor and flesh alike. Once the line was breached, the players began to collapse rapidly.

"Run! Run away!"

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Screeech!

Most of the assassination squad was logged out, and only a few swift-footed groups managed to escape.

Hey! They're the ones who attacked first!

Tae-hyun grumbled, but that didn't stop his Infamy from rising.

The only silver lining was that he leveled up from this battle. He had transformed into a wraith, summoned a massive horde of undead, and wiped out all the players here, so a level-up was well-deserved.

Though it's sad that it only went up by one...

But what was the point of complaining now? Tae-hyun ordered the undead to pick up the dropped equipment.

"More death to the living..."

"Ah, shut up and just pick them up."

"There is a living heart over there... Gack!"

"Get to work, you punk. I said, get to work!"

If they didn't listen, a ruthless attack was instantly unleashed! Whoosh! When Tae-hyun threatened to burn them using Sadik's Flame, the undead quickly averted their eyes.

The Orc Ahjussis, who had just finished their battle, watched Tae-hyun command the undead in awe.

"That kid Tae-hyun really knows how to put people to work."

"This isn't his first or second time doing this, is it?"

"I'm amazed he can drag that entire crowd around."

This was a numbers game several times larger than the surprise attack the Orc Ahjussis had pulled off! Just being able to lead that many undead was an incredible ability in itself.

"Seriously impressive. Maybe I should've picked a class that commands the undead too."

"Come on, what's the fun in a class like Necromancer, just hovering weakly in the back? A real man is all about strength! Power!"

"Well, that's true."

Even so, the envious glints in the Orc Ahjussis' eyes didn't fade. How great would it be to command an undead army like that!

"I want to raise an undead pet too!"

Having been crushed by sheer numbers in their fight against the Guild Alliance, the ahjussis stared at Tae-hyun's undead army with longing eyes.

When the battle ended, message windows showing the evolution of the undead who had distinguished themselves appeared. They gained additional traits, or the monsters themselves evolved.

Normally, this was a reward that made an already strong undead army even stronger, but Tae-hyun smacked his lips in regret.

Most of them will be unsummoned once the Wraith transformation ends...

With Tae-hyun's current abilities, he wouldn't be able to maintain most of this undead army, so it was like pie in the sky.

Should I keep just one or two?

He could manage to keep one or two somehow, so picking the most useful undead to take with him didn't seem like a bad idea.

Which one would be good...

Tae-hyun scrolled through the undead list, searching for the most useful one.

This is it!

Tae-hyun felt this was the one. A Death Knight Commander was the evolved form of a Death Knight monster. Above all, he liked that it was an undead monster that led other undead monsters.

Since Tae-hyun wasn't a Necromancer, summoning and carrying undead around always came with severe penalties.

"Alright. You, step forward."

"Yes, Master."

"As for the rest of you..."

Tae-hyun, who was about to unsummon them, fell into thought as he looked at the massive undead army. It would be such a waste to just unsummon them. Was there another way?

"Ah. I just thought of a great idea."

"...?"

The undead warriors stared at Tae-hyun with innocent, clueless eyes. Ignoring them completely, Tae-hyun spoke.

"Lee Da-bi, could you bring me a giant cauldron?"

"Heuk-heuk. I think the fire is a bit weak."

"Heuk-heuk. I said the fire is weak."

"Heuk-heuk. If the fire stays this weak, I'm going to burn you as fuel instead."

"I am doing my absolute best, Master!" Heuk-heuk hastily replied, stoking the fire under the cauldron.

A massive cauldron had been set up where the assassination squad once stood, and beneath it boiled a powerful flame kindled by Heuk-heuk.

"What are you trying to do?" the others asked, tilting their heads in confusion.

Seeing Tae-hyun act like this, it looked like he was about to cook... but was there anything to cook right now?

"You'll find out soon. Hmm, it's boiling nicely. Alright, you go in first."

"What did you say?"

"I said, get in."

Tae-hyun grabbed a Ghoul Warrior and threw it straight into the cauldron. Then, he activated his skill.

"..."

"..."

The players present and the undead under Tae-hyun's command realized what he was trying to do and gasped in horror.

It was a form of... recycling! Since they were going to be unsummoned anyway, he was going to turn them all into monster essences.

Growing impatient, Tae-hyun began using various skills to issue absolute commands to the undead.

"Alright. All you lowest-grade wraiths, get in there!"

Huh? Why is my Reputation going up?

He didn't understand why, but since they were giving it to him, he gladly accepted.

"Aaaagh... Aaaaagh..."

"We will curse you..."

Tae-hyun dealt with the wraiths that completely blanketed the area first.

Come to think of it, can't I combine these lowest-grade wraith essences to make an Essence of the Wraith?

"..."

Tae-hyun closed the window with a dejected look. These lowest-grade monster essences were awkward to use. They weren't very useful as buffs at his level...

"Ah. You can just drink them."

Tae-hyun called over the Death Knight Commander and handed him the stream of low-grade essences. Since they were awkward items to use anyway, it was best to invest them all into the one undead he was keeping.

"Master. This is not honorable..."

As an undead born from a knight, the Death Knight was a peculiar monster that cared about honor! Of course, such things meant nothing in front of Tae-hyun.

"Do you want to go into the pot instead?"

"I am merely grateful for Master's grace! Gulp, gulp!"

Tae-hyun fed all the essences obtained from the low-to-mid-grade undead monsters to the Death Knight Commander.

I knew it! He had expected some kind of change if he kept feeding it essences, and his prediction hit the mark.

Oh, what a great effect.

Tae-hyun looked at the Death Knight. A larger build than other Death Knights, higher-quality armor, and an intimidating blue glow in his eyes. If he had to pick a defining feature...

"I'll name you Golgol-i."

"...Excuse me, but that's a bit..."

"It goes well with Heuk-heuk."

If he made Golgol-i ride on top of Heuk-heuk in battle, it would be like a Dragon Rider Death Knight!

"Master! He's undead!" Heuk-heuk shrieked in horror.

Tae-hyun asked, genuinely puzzled.

"What's wrong with undead?"

"I am a demonic beast of the god Sadiq! Of course I hate the undead!"

"Ah. Sadiq is an evil god, so I figured he'd be close with the undead. That's just what I assumed."

"..."

Even if Sadiq was an evil god, he was still a god. There was absolutely no reason for him to get along with the undead!

"At least I'm glad you understand now, Master."

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind from now on."

"...You're still going to make him ride me, aren't you?"

"Yep."

Heuk-heuk could already guess how Tae-hyun would act.

"Golgol-i."

"...I think I'd prefer to just be called Death Knight..."

"You don't have any problem riding him, right?"

"If it is your command, I shall obey. I can endure it thanks to the essences I consumed. I felt holy power within them."

"Right, that's great... Wait, what did you say?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

When he saw this notification earlier, he had assumed it was just part of the overall stat boost. But hearing this, it seemed his resistance had increased because there was holy power mixed into the essences.

Tae-hyun turned his head to look at the cauldron. The fire heating the cauldron right now was Sadik's Flame, which Heuk-heuk had kindled.

"It's not my fault!" Heuk-heuk immediately made excuses the moment Tae-hyun stared at him.

"No, I'm not blaming you."

It was a miscalculation, but a happy one. For an undead monster, the higher their Holy Resistance, the better.

"This is perfect. Golgol-i, keep drinking!"

"..."

Golgol-i had nothing but bones for a face, but somehow, an expression of sheer reluctance was clearly felt.

In the end, all the low-to-mid-grade undead nearby, including the lowest-grade wraiths, were completely wiped out. They were condensed into essences and poured straight into Golgol-i's stomach!

I don't have much time, so I need to hurry.

Tae-hyun tried to quickly toss the remaining high-grade undead in as well. If his Wraith transformation wore off, the undead would either be unsummoned or start resisting.

"Ahem, hem..."

"?"

"Tae-hyun."

Tae-hyun turned around to find the Orc Ahjussis standing there with sheepish looks on their faces. It was the face of people who wanted something!

Tae-hyun thought about what they could possibly want. There was only one logical answer.

"I'll send Stau over right away. I'll have him delivered by express shipping."

Tae-hyun wanted that too! But that wasn't what the ahjussis wanted.

"Well... if you're just going to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠throw them all in the pot like that, can't you give us one each?"

"Yeah, yeah. We'll take them and raise them well."

"..."

As Tae-hyun stared in disbelief, one of the ahjussis raised his hand.

"What is it?"

"I'm a bit different... once you're done boiling all that, can I have a sip? It seems like it'd be really good for your health."

As the ahjussi spoke cautiously, the other ahjussis immediately began scolding him. It turned out they had all had the same thought at least once. However...

"Hey, there's no way that's good for your health! They're undead!"

"But the meat closest to the bone is always the most flavorful! It might be the same for these undead!"

"You crazy bastard, you're going to kick the bucket looking for a health Tonic! You fell seriously ill last time after eating that bad snake, and you're still talking like that? When it comes to a tonic, verifying the ingredients is the most important part!"

Watching the ahjussis bicker so pathetically, Tae-hyun turned his head away. Then, he grabbed another Ghoul Warrior and threw it in.

Splash!