Negotiating with the Dead
Carbanog says that those undead seem to have lost their minds.
Even Karbanog, who was well-accustomed to all sorts of Archisus-related nonsense, found this anomaly bizarre. Tae-hyun was equally bewildered.
Why on earth?
Negotiating with Dwarf NPCs made sense. Negotiating with Elf NPCs also made sense. But negotiating with undead monsters? That made absolutely no sense!
Undead monsters usually had no free will. Special monsters like Liches, who had willingly transformed into undead, acted independently with their own purposes, but ordinary undead monsters were different. Reborn from the energy of death, undead monsters harbored nothing but hatred for the living. When necromancers summoned the undead or dominated wandering ones to do their bidding, it was subjugation, not negotiation. It was suppression through magical force!
Nevuchadnezzar was an archmage who sought to become the God of Death. Although he was defeated by a wicked and despicable foe, his noble intent to relieve all living things of the heavy burden of life will endure forever.
“……”
...
Tae-hyun and Karbanog stared at the message window with sour expressions. Wasn't this system message incredibly biased just because it was related to Nevuchadnezzar? How could it sugarcoat a tyrant who wanted to slaughter all living things and enslave them under his rule like that?
I wish they'd sugarcoat Archisus like that too.
The benevolent heart of Archisus, who drove out the gods and demons who sought to manipulate the souls of the continent, leaving behind a peaceful land of spirits...
Carbanog says that even so, that is pushing it too far.
...Hey...
While the two of them bickered, the message windows continued to pop up.
• Having inherited Nevuchadnezzar's power, you grant reason and free will to nearby undead as his successor.
• If you possessed Nevuchadnezzar's complete power, you could have subjugated and ruled over all undead with a single glance. However, you must persuade them instead.
• But this might be an even better opportunity! Nevuchadnezzar only sought to dominate, so he had no loyal subordinates to aid him. Because you must persuade the undead, you can forge superior subordinates.
Carry on Nevuchadnezzar's will!
Isn't carrying on Nevuchadnezzar's will basically telling me to kill everyone on the continent?
Karbanog agrees. It asks what kind of crazy rabbit business that is.
Nevuchadnezzar had perished, but his ambition to ascend as the God of Death remained. Having inherited a fragment of Nevuchadnezzar's power, Tae-hyun had to persuade and recruit the undead, unlike his predecessor. Yet, this was framed as a superior opportunity. Become a different kind of God of Death and shroud the continent in demise!
This is a quest I must absolutely never complete.
His standing was already precarious enough to make him a public enemy of the continent at any moment. Doing this would guarantee his status as a global villain!
Moreover, the quest's premise was highly suspicious. Having the power to instantly dominate the undead like Nevuchadnezzar was obviously much better. What was so great about having to talk to and persuade each undead individually?
To make matters worse, granting reason and free will to nearby undead was a passive skill. Tae-hyun couldn't even toggle it off! It unconditionally made nearby undead smarter and more clever. It was essentially upgrading normal monsters into elite or boss monsters.
And what if the persuasion failed? He would have just buffed his enemies for free. What kind of garbage mechanic was this...!
Wait. This feels strangely familiar.
This quest, which shamelessly scammed him into thinking a clearly disadvantageous condition was actually beneficial...
It's the exact same tactic the Archisus Cult uses!
The exact same style! Did all religious factions in this world peddle snake oil like this? If they had just said, "It's a bad condition, but there's nothing we can do! Hang in there!" he wouldn't be this annoyed. Saying "This might be even better~" just made it incredibly grating.
Carbanog asks you to understand the need to maintain divine dignity.
I've been scammed too many times to be understanding.
“Tae-hyun,” Lee Da-bi called out from behind him.
“?”
“A quest just popped up for me...”
“!”
Da-bi had also received a new class after the Nevuchadnezzar raid.
“It's telling me to carry on Nevuchadnezzar's will and bribe all the undead. What on earth is this quest?”
“...I was just pondering the exact same thing.”
In truth, the one whose class had undergone the most drastic change was Da-bi. If she were to tell anyone about it, they would surely respond with, "What kind of ridiculous class is that? -_-"
Cain was also a case where his class had changed significantly, but in reality, his role as Archisus's Slave wasn't that different from his previous class. A steadfast tank! In contrast, Da-bi had received a massive influx of new roles.
First, as a priest, she gained various healing and buff skills. Though they required spending gold. Cheat-like skills were so potent that other priests would be shocked. Though they required spending gold.
On top of that, since she was originally a merchant, she also possessed merchant class skills. Non-combat skills like those that maximized profit during transactions or increased weight limits became even more powerful with the prefix Golden attached to them. They triggered additional bonuses and various beneficial phenomena with a certain probability.
...Of course, there was a lower probability of triggering penalties as well.
And her Shackles of Debt had evolved into Golden Chains. The powerful debuff skill that bound both her own feet and the opponent's had advanced to the next level.
Additionally, she possessed the traits of the God of Death, granting her a solid arsenal of curse attacks like Curse of Bankruptcy or Debt Collection. Naturally, these also consumed gold.
All in all, her Golden Bishop was an incredibly powerful class. An all-rounder class capable of flexibly adapting to any situation—provided she could handle the gold consumption!
If a pay-to-win enthusiast who spared no expense like Kim Tae-san, or even Ji-su had obtained this class, the results would have been terrifying.
But Da-bi was someone who trembled with anxiety every single time she used a skill. Even after becoming famous, reaching the ranker boards, and earning a massive income, that frugality never changed. She was the type of person who would always buy cheap generic ramen instead of premium brands! In a way, she was the worst possible match for this class.
Among Da-bi's skills, there was an anti-undead skill. It wasn't Turn Undead, which purified the undead with holy power... but rather, Bribe Undead. An absurd skill that allowed her to hire the undead by spending gold!
He had wondered why anyone would ever use such a skill instead of just killing them, but it turned out to be directly related to her class quest: Join hands with the undead and shroud the world in death!
“What a load of garbage, right?”
“Complete garbage.”
Tae-hyun and Da-bi cleanly decided to ignore it. They would simply ignore every single quest related to Nevuchadnezzar!
-Wait... what are we doing here...?
-W-why am I here?
Meanwhile, the Death Knights had fallen into confusion and were talking amongst themselves.
There's no need to waste time talking. I should just wipe them out... Tae-hyun thought as he raised his weapon once more.
With the holy domain deployed and various buffs active, Tae-hyun was confident he could easily overwhelm them, even if they were Death Knights.
Building up forces is fine and all, but only when necessary. I can't be bothered to persuade undead one by one right now. Since they're undead, they could be stolen by another necromancer at any moment, and the church heroes are currently stationed in the Sky Castle anyway...
No matter how he calculated it, the risks far outweighed the benefits! Tae-hyun quickly finished his mental math and prepared to sweep them away.
-I was... surely a knight who served His Majesty...!
-Ah... That's right! I was a knight who served the Auston Royal Family!
-Indeed! I believe I was as well!
...Well, the Auston Royal Family doesn't exist anymore, so it doesn't matter. Tae-hyun raised his sword even higher!
-I think I was a knight of the Atali Kingdom!
-You too...? It seems I was as well!
“?!”
There were knights of the Atali Kingdom here too?!
The Death Knights, who had been conversing among themselves, turned their heads and stared intently at Tae-hyun.
-Who are those intruders? They appear to be living beings. Shouldn't we kill them?
-No... Were we not once honorable knights? Even if death has defiled us, we cannot commit dishonorable acts!
-But those who sneak down into a mine like this are usually vulgar thieves...
-No, look at him. Even while standing still, one can feel his holy power and sense of honor.
-Indeed!
-W-wait. He is... He is the King of the Atali Kingdom!
-Your... Your Majesty? Is it truly you, Your Majesty?
Tae-hyun flinched, unable to bring his raised sword down.
Carbanog says you have already missed the timing to strike.
Should I just slash them anyway?
Carbanog says they look pitiful, so you should at least hear them out.
He had an ominous feeling that the moment he listened to them, he would be dragged into something troublesome!
-Your Majesty! *Sob*! Please hear our grievances!
-Your Majesty! We are deeply sorry! To think we broke our oath to protect the Atali Royal Family!
The knights from the Atali Kingdom fell to their knees and wept bitterly.
-But Your Majesty... which king are you?
-Are you perhaps the son of King Vielle III?
“...Who?”
Tae-hyun was bewildered by the name he had never heard before. The king before him was Damiano II.
One of the rankers standing behind him spoke up.
“I think he was a king from a few hundred years ago? I feel like I saw that name once in an old history book...”
Tae-hyun's expression stiffened. He had recently experienced firsthand that ancient heroes weren't necessarily a good thing!
Don't tell me they have an age penalty too...
Carbanog says they are already dead, so how could they have something like that?
True. That makes sense. In any case, since I'm not blood-related to the previous royal family, I don't really need to accept their oath of loyalty...
-Even with the passage of time, our loyalty remains unchanged, Your Majesty! Please accept our allegiance!
Even though Tae-hyun hadn't even attempted to negotiate, the undead had gone ahead and negotiated with themselves!
Negotiation Successful!
• You can now command the undead.
• Your Infamy has increased.
• You cannot re-summon or unsummon these undead.
• If the undead's dissatisfaction grows too high, they may stage a rebellion.
• Undead are...
• ...
Normally, leading an undead army meant continuously consuming MP to maintain the summons. In exchange, the undead swore near-absolute loyalty to the mage!
However, this method was...
The same method used for leading NPC soldiers or subordinates.
No MP consumption, but they would rebel if poorly managed—it was exactly that system.
It's technically better, but...
Continuous MP consumption was fatal for Tae-hyun, whose absolute mana pool was lacking. Furthermore, because his magic skill level was unnecessarily high despite his low character level, only high-level summons would appear. Thus, Tae-hyun rarely maintained large-scale summons unless it was a special circumstance.
While this was certainly a favorable method for him...
...I didn't want to increase my subordinates in the first place!
He already had more than enough subordinates, yet these unpredictable entities kept trying to enlist under him! Having unexpected variables crop up was bound to give him a headache.
Moreover, when he realized that any undead he encountered in the future would likely behave the same way...
• The Undead Unit has been automatically formed.
• They will follow you loyally.
• Elite Ghoul Soldiers have joined the unit following the Death Knights' persuasion.
• The number of subordinate NPCs has increased. A penalty will be applied if you exceed the limit of your Tactics skill.
• Infighting may break out among the undead.
• Your Infamy has increased.
Clank, clank, clank—
-Your Majesty! Please accept our swords!
-Your Majesty! We shall follow you!
“...Right. I'm not particularly grateful.”
-Your Majesty! Hearing your words of gratitude makes our stopped hearts feel as though they are beating once more!
“Are your ears dead too?”
A Death Knight from the Auston Kingdom, who had been watching the exchange, asked hesitantly.
-Your Majesty. Might we ask who currently rules the Auston Kingdom?
“...Uh. Your king... got kicked out.”