Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Muyoung, the Shadow Wolf
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However, my necromantic mana, which had reached beyond the 9th Circle—hailed as the pinnacle of necromantic magic—possessed an inherent dominance far superior to that of ordinary necromancers.
"Hm..."
While the goblin wraiths massacred their kin, I experimented with curse magic, black magic, bone magic, and the like, slowly regaining my senses.
"Not bad."
Compared to swordsmanship, it didn't feel particularly stronger in any standout way.
Necromantic magic was still a bit lacking since I'd only recently recovered it, but raising it to the 5th Circle so quickly meant that wasn't a major issue.
Dozens of goblin wraiths. After repeatedly extracting and wraithifying the souls of minor monsters besides them, I successfully gathered at least a hundred wraiths.
In the process, a short stroll turned into clearing floors 2 through 5, letting me collect some pretty decent wraiths as well.
Before I knew it, their numbers surpassed two hundred, forming a veritable army.
"Did I make too many?"
They were stored in the shadows anyway, so it didn't matter much, but I wasn't satisfied with the quality.
We recommend Spirit Fusion.
"You're right. I forgot about that method."
After some thought, I clapped my hands to summon all the wraiths.
"Everyone, assemble. Line up by type."
At my command, the wraiths groaned "Groooar" as they neatly sorted themselves by species in orderly ranks.
Goblins first, then beast-type monsters, formless monsters—a wide variety.
Among them, I called forth the strongest Shadow Wolf, the one with the cleanest form.
"You'll be the core from now on."
I clapped my hands sharply and began drawing out massive amounts of necromantic mana.
Necromantic mana was overflowing. Success odds weren't high at the 5th Circle, but the sheer volume covered for multiple attempts.
Spirit Fusion
One core wraith consumes all others as sacrifices.
A massive magic circle formed with me and the Shadow Wolf at its center, and the other wraiths began getting sucked into the Shadow Wolf at my gesture.
Thankfully, it succeeded on the first try.
I'd seen something like this in the game before.
A system where you fed other monsters to a grown one to raise its star rating.
Inspired by that memory, I'd created this system, and it proved quite useful.
-Grrrrrr...
Soon, the necromantic mana vanished as if it had been a lie, and a single dark blue shadowy wolf rippled into view before me.
"Maybe it's because the base was good. Looks pretty cool."
This level should be quite usable.
Having concentrated hundreds of wraiths into one, its power was on a whole different league from before the fusion.
"This one's a named monster, at least. What should I name it?"
As I pondered briefly, a sudden curiosity struck me.
"Hey, Librarian."
I wondered what the Librarian's naming sense was like.
Confirmed.
"How about naming this one?"
The Librarian fell silent for a moment before completing its text.
Fido, we recommend.
"Don't ever name anything again."
You're no slouch yourself.
I went with something simple. Shadow Wolf... even though it had no shadow of its own.
"Muyoung."
A shadowless Shadow Wolf. Damn, that's some crazy wordplay.
Melissa would've called me a lunatic if she saw, but she wasn't here.
"From now on, you're Muyoung."
It looked cool enough that I figured I could feed it undead periodically and turn it into a strategic weapon-tier undead.
Come to think of it, weren't necromancers basically undead breeders?
A hollow laugh escaped me.
-Grr...
When I extended my hand, it rubbed its head against it.
Just like a puppy acting cute for its owner.
"Should I farm about two hundred more wraiths to feed Muyoung and head back?"
It was already plenty strong, but after engraving enhancement spells on it, it became powerful enough to shred monster packs single-handedly.
Passss...
A small bone fragment appeared in my palm.
"Here, Muyoung. Fetch!"
I lightly tossed the bone fragment toward a monster.
-Woof!!
Muyoung's yellow eyes flashed, and it shot out like a black lightning bolt.
Boom!!!!!
The monster exploded in an instant.
Ignoring that, it returned with the bone fragment in its mouth, panting as if begging for praise.
Panting like that, it felt less like a wolf and more like a house dog.
Afterward, Muyoung roamed freely through the shadows in all directions, slaughtering monsters.
Just like a dog out for a walk.
In the midst of it, the creature brought back something odd.
"What the? A person?"
What it fetched was a soul.
"Hey! I told you to hunt monsters, not people!"
Had this crazy wolf killed someone and brought their soul?
I yelled in shock, and it frantically shook its head.
-Kek... Ek! Gek!
Of course, shaking like that made the soul in its mouth scream and flail.
"Set it down first."
At my command, Muyoung placed down the soul of a robed boy it had in its jaws.
-Ugh...
I stared straight at the writhing soul.
Thanks to recovering memories from the Hall of Necromancy and awakening my deathly eyes, conversing with souls was no issue.
"You didn't kill it?"
-Pant pant!
The shadow wraith wolf Muyoung nodded vigorously.
"Then you answer. How'd you end up like this?"
-Ah! You can see me?!
He seemed aware of his own state.
He waved his hands wildly in front of me, locking eyes directly.
-You can really see me? But I'm dead...
"Muyoung, fetch."
-Graaaar!!!
-Kieeeek!
In an instant, Muyoung bit its nape and shook it wildly—going beyond that into a death roll—drawing a scream from the soul.
"I can see you, so answer. What are you?"
-Ah... You really can see me. Ha... haha...
He gave a hollow laugh. He still looked young.
Wraiths reflected their living appearance perfectly, so this was how he looked before death.
"Judging by your robes, you seem like a young master from a fine house."
-Bad luck. I pushed too hard, unlike usual. Haha.
With a stiff expression, he explained his situation.
Surprisingly, he wasn't an ordinary adventurer.
-Pleased to meet you. I'm Parel Verli, third son of the Verli Ducal House of the Bata Kingdom.
"What the hell is a duke's son doing here like this? Your soul looks fresh—hasn't been long since you died."
-Ahahaha... Well, a new spell idea flashed in my mind. I used it without knowing how dangerous it was, and my mana depleted...
Who throws unpracticed magic into real combat? Shouldn't you at least test it somewhere safe first?
Among those who die and become wraiths, very few retain their sanity. It was inevitable.
Humans can't easily accept their own impending death.
Yet he seemed unusually calm.
-Um, if it's not too much, could you grant me one request?
"What?"
-My body is nearby. If possible, could you collect my belongings and deliver them to the Verli Ducal House? My family will reward you accordingly...
His request made me narrow my eyes.
"How long ago did you die?"
He pondered briefly at my question.
-Just a bit ago, so not long.
"Unbelievable."
A scoff escaped me.
"Muyoung, to the corpse."
At my order, Muyoung gave a short howl and guided us quickly.
Fortunately, the body wasn't far.
And there it was—the boy's corpse, impaled in the abdomen by a sharp rock.
"..."
"Hm..."
"Muyoung."
Muyoung leaped down swiftly and retrieved Parel Verli's corpse in a flash.
Normal wraith-type undead couldn't carry corpses like that directly, but this didn't apply to my enhanced undead.
I wasn't sure if the necromancers of this world used similar methods.
-Ugh... Seeing it like this is kinda gross.
That's all he had to say about his own body.
At least it confirmed he wasn't entirely normal, but I quickly scanned his flesh.
Body enhancement artifact? That's expensive stuff.
"Hm? Nice artifact you've got. This might work out."
-Pardon?
"Stay put."
With that, I seized his soul outright.
Fwooooosh!!!!
I shoved it into his corpse and poured necromantic mana into the body.
-Uwaaaaaah!!
His panicked cry rang out, but I didn't stop.
It was a dead body.
Necrosis was setting in from lack of oxygen, but luckily, his artifact had kept the corpse largely intact.
What I was doing was sealing the fatal wound and forcibly reseating his soul in the flesh.
With a priest's help, he could survive.
Of course, this required exquisitely precise control and highly evolved necromantic mana.
Circle count itself didn't matter much.
In my current state, it was just a matter of expending a bit more necromantic mana to revive him.
The work was like meticulously reconnecting countless nerve bundles.
One slip, and not only would revival fail—his soul might shatter, or even if successful, he'd be irreparably damaged. But it didn't feel that hard.
After linking all the countless strands, I poured a recovery potion over the wound.
Boosting the injured area with vitality, I then applied a strong shock. His body convulsed.
I later recalled that while necromantic magic couldn't perfectly heal like holy magic, combining it with recovery potions allowed it to mend people.
"Cough?! Gaaah! It hurts!"
Suddenly, his once-stiff body snapped open its eyes wide.
"Ack?!"
"How many fingers is this?"
I held up two fingers and shook them before him.
"Uh... two... two?"
Good. It was an experiment, but this efficiency opened up plenty more necromantic magic tricks to try in the future.
Revived in an instant, he stared blankly at his body before looking at me.
"H-How is this..."
"Nice artifact."
I pointed to the necklace around his neck.
I didn't know the details, but it had continuously regenerated his body.
Even after death, preventing major decay.