Chapter 100
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: The Freak and the Curse (8)
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'Yes!'
I clenched my fists tightly.
The work was finally done.
Six undead knights.
I'd given every one of them a brand-new body.
'Creepy.'
Was it because these were the guys who'd tried to kill me?
Staring at the six undead knights who'd regained their former appearances, a chill ran down my spine.
It felt like they could lunge at me any second.
I'd felt the same way with Gilbert, but their bodies were so meticulously crafted that you couldn't tell them apart from living people at all.
"Lord Heros, is it all finished?"
At that moment, Bear approached me, still keeping watch around us.
I could guess why he was coming over.
He wanted to test himself against the undead knights.
"Yeah."
"Then shouldn't we check just how much stronger they've gotten compared to before?"
Sure enough, Bear was hoping for a spar.
And Conall, who'd quietly drawn near, was watching me with clear anticipation on his face.
The reason they were so eager for a fight was simple.
It was fun.
'Fighting undead means no need to hold back.'
Bear and Conall's physical abilities were extraordinary.
That's why they always had to pull their punches against humans.
One slip, and they could seriously hurt someone.
But against undead?
They could go all out without a care.
That's why they were hounding me like this.
"Want to give them a test run, you two?"
"Yes, sir. Leave it to us."
"We shall obey your command."
Bear and Conall responded promptly to my question.
Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea for me either.
I wanted to see just how strong the undead knights were too.
"Let's start with one-on-one matches."
After my order,
Bear and Conall each faced off against a different opponent.
Before, these fights had ended in total victories for the two of them.
But how would it go now?
'Oh, they're holding their own pretty well.'
Bear and Conall.
The undead knights facing them.
They weren't getting steamrolled like before.
Clang!
The clashes came without pause.
Bear and Conall pressed forward aggressively, while the undead knights held their defenses firm, weathering the onslaught.
They'd clearly improved a ton since last time.
I could say they'd reached a level close to—no, maybe even matching—their strength in life.
Of course, the winners were still Bear and Conall.
Even enhanced by body-sculpting magic, the knights weren't quite there yet.
'Still a satisfying result.'
If Bear and Conall could be tied down in one-on-one fights,
then they could handle most ordinary knights.
It was a gratifying outcome.
Thankfully, I wasn't the only one who thought so—Bear and Conall were heaping praise on the undead knights too.
"To be honest, I didn't expect them to get this strong. I can say with certainty that no average knight could beat them. They're that solid."
"I was just as surprised as Sir Bear. Their fundamentals are rock-solid. It felt like facing a knight who's trained with the sword for years."
Before using body-sculpting magic, it had taken two undead each to challenge Bear and Conall.
Even then, it had been an even match at best.
But not anymore.
That fact alone showed how much stronger the undead knights had become.
And they could get even stronger still.
The Puppeteer Grimoire's magic was still in effect.
《Still 333 left.》
The Puppeteer Grimoire's requirement was for my familiars to successfully kill over a thousand enemies.
Gilbert had taken down 667 so far.
Meaning we'd hit the goal soon.
Of course, the next spell from the grimoire might not enhance my familiars' abilities.
But if it didn't, oh well.
From what the Puppeteer Grimoire had said so far, the odds were high that the next magic would be another undead-boosting technique—but exceptions exist everywhere.
'Oh, right. I need to name them.'
The thought of the Puppeteer Grimoire suddenly reminded me of another issue.
The reason I'd used body-sculpting magic on the undead knights.
To add them to the group.
But once they were traveling with us, I couldn't just call them "hey" or "you."
To outsiders, they looked like knights, right?
So I couldn't treat them casually.
At the very least, I had to call them by name.
'Keep it simple.'
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta.
That's what I named the six undead knights.
Taken from Greek letters.
Easy to remember that way.
The next day,
I headed to Timothy's manor at dawn.
He'd asked me to come see him before leaving.
Said he'd prepare supplies for the journey.
'Sorry about this.'
Stott's situation wasn't great.
Refugees and barbarians had flooded in.
Yet here was Timothy stepping up to support me anyway—he really was a man of integrity.
I'd have preferred to slip away quietly, but that would've looked like I was snubbing him.
So I couldn't do that.
"You've arrived?"
Had he been swinging his sword since dawn?
Timothy greeted me with sweat dripping down his face.
At his command to the servants, they began loading our wagon with supplies.
Mostly food.
"If the territory's finances were better, I could've given you more. But this is the best I can do right now."
"This is more than enough."
"Don't sell yourself short like that. Without your efforts, that monster would've turned Stott into a wasteland. You deserve respect."
When Timothy replied,
a servant called out to him.
"My lord, the wagon's fully loaded!"
Hearing that, Timothy turned to me.
"It's time we part ways."
"Yes. Thanks to your hospitality, Sir Timothy, we rested well in Stott. I am grateful."
"I'm the one who should thank you, Mage Heros."
The familiar name from Timothy's lips.
He'd used my real name, not my alias.
"You knew?"
I asked, and he smiled.
Then he pointed to his ear with his right index finger.
"Knights have sharp ears. I happened to overhear your mercenaries calling you by your real name."
When we were alone, everyone called me Heros instead of John.
And Timothy had overheard by chance.
Even after realizing I was using an alias, he'd kept my secret without a hint of offense.
"Sorry for the deception."
"No need to apologize. Everyone has their reasons."
Timothy responded to my apology like that.
Then, looking me in the eye, he continued.
"I wish you success in achieving your goals up north."
We left the village with Timothy seeing us off.
The Chapman Mercenary Corps followed behind.
They were leaving the village too.
But not in our direction.
They were probably heading back where they came from.
'Guess they cut their losses.'
The freak and the monster.
Chapman, the leader of the Chapman Mercenary Corps, must've concluded they couldn't handle them with their forces.
So they were bailing on Stott without a second thought.
If Timothy had hired them, things might've been different, but he hadn't bothered.
With capable barbarian warriors joining the village defense for free, expensive mercenaries didn't appeal.
'Lucky I can command familiars.'
The thought crossed my mind.
They had so many advantages over mercenaries.
Strong, unpaid, loyal.
What better minions could there be?
I felt nothing but gratitude toward Gilbert and the six undead knights.
'But how do I bring in the six knights?'
I hadn't called the undead knights yet.
Adding six people out of nowhere might raise suspicions from Timothy or the villagers.
But now we were leaving Stott.
Time to bring them in.
'Just call them. I can say they've been with the group for a while.'
No good excuses came to mind.
So I'd wing it.
It had worked with Gilbert.
"Hold up."
Once we were a good distance from Stott,
I stopped the group.
Everyone looked at me with puzzled expressions.
"The Oak Mercenary Corps has some new members joining. I want to take a moment to introduce them."
As soon as I finished, the group started murmuring.
Only Bear and Conall—who knew who I meant—kept quiet, lips sealed.
"How many recruits?"
Cedric asked me then, curiosity plain on his face.
"Six."
"Whoa!"
Cedric let out an exclamation at my answer.
The young folks from Evergreen and the other mercenaries from the Four Idiots band perked up too.
Probably thrilled at more hands for the grunt work.
But their joy wouldn't last.
'Sorry, but all six are knights.'
The moment I thought that, the undead knights slowly emerged from the roadside brush.
"Those guys... I mean, those gentlemen? They're the ones joining the mercenary corps?"
Cedric spotted the undead knights.
He'd started to dismiss them casually but caught their imposing aura and switched to polite speech, asking cautiously.
I nodded.
"That's right. All six are knights. They've followed me for a while now and are officially joining this time. Like Gilbert, they can't speak, so bear with that."
The addition of six knights.
Cedric's eyes went wide.
Then he sidled up to me carefully and whispered in my ear.
"That makes nine knights in the mercenary corps. What outfit wanders around with nine knights? You'll go broke!"
The pay gap between mercenaries and knights was huge.
That's why Cedric was fretting.
But... he didn't know the truth.
'Cedric, seven of the nine are unpaid. The other two are basically volunteers too.'
Bear and Conall.
They didn't take separate pay from me.
Same for Gilbert and the six undead knights.
My finances were fine.
"Don't worry, Cedric. I've got the resources for it."
I told him confidently, looking him in the eye.
His eyes sparkled.
His respect for me seemed to grow.
Ah, but I should point this out.
"And knights can hear whispers like that. Be more careful next time."
"Oh."
Cedric's face went pale.
The further north we went, the more fights we ran into.
We were encountering the freaks more often.
But I didn't mind.
They were stepping stones for my growth.
'At this rate, I can meet the Puppeteer Grimoire's requirement in no time.'
Every time freaks appeared, I ordered Gilbert to take them out.
Like completing a quest in a game.
Pergal griped once about me stealing his kills, but leaving him a few enemies solved that.
Anyway, we arrived smoothly at the next waypoint.
That's where I sensed the grimoire.
Mana was emanating from a spot not far from the village I'd chosen as our stop.
'This feeling... it's Earth Magic.'
I desperately needed to replenish my mana, and now a grimoire shows up here?
I couldn't pass that up.
My heart started racing.