Raise the Dead

"I'll handle those guys' stuff, so you rest now. You need to recover your holy power if you're gonna fight again."

Yoahim felt queasy about making Emily do the looting. So he told her to just rest quietly, and she nodded vigorously. Soon, she began praying to restore her holy power.

"Alright, time to grab some items."

First up, the mage Lili. Stripping her clothes might fetch some coin, but that was too barbaric. Her pointy hat was useless, and the short staff in her hand was the same. The only thing that seemed valuable was the necklace around her neck.

Yoahim pulled the necklace from her neck and checked its info.

As expected of a mage, she wore an accessory with mana recovery. Yoahim pondered briefly and decided to give it to Emily. In the game, mana and holy power were essentially the same thing under different names, so it should work for her too.

"Next, Sila..."

The idiot who snapped at advice and charged in alone to die anyway. Yoahim eyed her daggers first. They'd looked sharp enough slicing kobolds. Not super rare given the levels, but a blacksmith might pay decently for them.

Items were graded common, high-grade, rare, hero, legend. Standard game fare. High-grade should fetch a good price.

"Grab ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it for now. Next, Martin."

Truth be told, Martin was what Yoahim had been looking forward to most. Lili and Sila's gear wouldn't help him much, but Martin's looked promising.

"Armor for later. No accessories. Now the weapon."

Yoahim stripped Martin's armor and stored it in his inventory. Emily still had her eyes closed in prayer, so she didn't see it vanish.

A rare item? Yoahim's eyes widened. In the game, rares were just pass-through gear, but here? Truly hard to find. And Martin had been wielding one. No idea where he got it, but...

No wonder the level 17 asshole was so cocky. He had backing.

With gear like this, he could've beaten stronger foes. Explained the confidence. Yoahim bowed slightly to Martin and picked up the sword.

Rest in peace. I'll put this to good use.

He stowed his mace in inventory and equipped the Fairy Sword. A warm light seemed to envelop him. Sudden, but Yoahim didn't panic. He grinned and swung it through the air a few times.

Perfect fit.

"Emily."

"Ah, Yoahim. Ready to go? I've recovered quite a bit of holy power through prayer."

"Take this."

Yoahim handed her the necklace from Lili. Honestly, it stung a bit. Mana recovery items were rare; even he wanted it. But to survive here, he needed her help. And items? He could always ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kill and loot later.

No, who said anything about killing.

Yoahim shook his head. Since becoming a Dark Knight, he felt his humanity slipping. Like the game's character concept was consuming him bit by bit.

"Th-this is...?"

"Lili's necklace. Wear it around your neck; it'll speed up your holy power recovery."

"Lili's necklace..."

Emily gazed at it sadly but soon steeled herself, accepting and donning it.

"We'll fight for the dead too! So let's survive and get out!"

Spunky. I like it. Yoahim nodded casually and approached Sila and Lili's bodies slowly. He began chanting in a low voice.

"Wh-what? Yoahim, what are you...?"

Emily asked in confusion, but he ignored her. Don't interrupt the cast. Yoahim finished the chant and shouted.

"Rise!"

At his cry, head-smashed Sila and arrow-pierced Lili staggered to their feet.

Emily's already wide eyes bulged further.

"N-no way, a resurrection spell?!"

Nope. Necromancy. A Dark Knight was a hybrid class blending various jobs. It could use a necromancer's necromancy skill. Undead stats scaled with skill level—not as strong as a pure necromancer's—but summoning a few skeletons was key. Yoahim had invested in Intellect for this.

"Amazing, Yoahim! Reviving Sila and Lili like that! Even high priests struggle with spells like this—I'm in awe!"

Is she slow? Anyone can see it's not resurrection. Yoahim considered explaining but let it go. Revealing he was a Dark Knight would complicate things.

"But why isn't Martin getting up?"

Martin lay still. Sure, one Martin would've been more useful than two weaklings, but Yoahim's low skill level couldn't handle him. Dark Knight necromancy was inferior; big level gaps made revival tough.

"My skill's not enough."

"Ah..."

The truth. Low skill level was the issue. Emily sighed sympathetically.

"Let's move."

Yoahim put undead Sila and Lili up front and advanced. They groaned "Uuuuuhhh" with unnatural gaits. Emily tilted her head watching, then trotted after them.

"Hold up. Trap ahead. Sila, disarm it."

"Uuuuuhhh!"

Sila's specialty: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trap disarming. She bravely charged the trap.

Thwish!

Arrows turned her into a porcupine.

"Hm, trap's cleared."

"Um, excuse me? This doesn't seem like how trap disarming usually works...?"

"What're you saying? Doubting Sila's skills?"

Emily eyed the porcupine-Sila on the ground.

"N-no, not that, but this is kinda..."

Yoahim recast necromancy on Sila. Even uglier now, she groaned. Got a problem? A glare silenced her.

"Sila, disarm!"

"Uuuuuhhh!"

Thanks to brave Sila, they advanced safely. She got uglier with each trap. By now, even Emily sensed something off. She swallowed, about to question Yoahim, but—

"Kieeeek! Human! Kill! Human! Kill!"

Sudden enemies. Ten again, like before. Emily shut her mouth and ducked behind Yoahim—not fleeing, but ready for her role.

"Sila, go tank! Lili, magic!"

Sila charged bravely. She'd died in one hit alive, but now? Weaponless, yet durable. Undead boosted physical stats.

"Uuu, uuuhhh, uuuuuhhh!"

Chanting weirdly was Lili. As a former mage, she'd revived as a skeleton mage. Fresh corpse, so no rot.

Purple flame arrows flew. Stronger than alive, but still negligible damage. Her job: distract.

"Emily! Blessing!"

Yoahim yelled, drawing his sword and charging. While Sila and Lili distracted, he closed in and swung.

Slash!

The flesh-cutting sensation chilled him. Kobold hide sliced like paper.

Yeah, this is it. Euphoria hit. Grinning, he attacked again.

Level up helped, but new gear made hunting way easier.

"Last one!"

Yoahim beheaded the named kobold. Its head rolled with a thud.

"Hoo..."

He exhaled roughly, brushing back sweat-matted hair. Kobold corpses littered the floor, plus Sila and Lili's. Even undead, their base stats sucked; they couldn't last.

Last necromancy for now.

Yoahim revived them again. He'd dumped points into Intellect sporadically, but Dark Knights were melee tank-DPS. Mana always ran short.

Reviving Sila and Lili, Yoahim looked ahead. A pitch-black passage that seemed to suck everything in. Ominous energy emanated from it. Instinct told him: boss room.

"Listen up, Emily. The dungeon's boss is at the end of this path."

Emily stiffened at "dungeon's boss." Natural—bosses were leagues stronger than regulars.

"Rest before the final fight. You know what to do first, right?"

"Yes, I do."

Emily nodded. Yoahim stared at her face.

"Loot the tems first, then."

"Yes! Let's loot hard!"

The two rummaged through the kobold corpses. Undead Sila and Lili joined in.