Regarding My Best Friend's Connection to Cthulhu
I had safely entrusted the equipment production to Mi Yeeun.
It would take some time to complete.
Right now, since there were no related materials or equipment, I had to obtain those first.
I came here on purpose to get it done quickly. She’ll make it for me in time.
If it was something from Mi Yeeun, the quality would be assured.
After all, she was famous for her craftsmanship even in the original story.
She would definitely create it exactly to my desired feel.
I’ve already prepared the insurance. Now, I guess I have to survive in Cheonjihae.
Attending lectures diligently was part of that.
First, I needed a good score to become an intern.
“Ah, Do-hyung! Here!”
As I was heading to the lecture, Yu Eunhye waved her hand.
Hmm, today’s lecture started with some healing.
By the way, this lecture was being held outdoors.
It was a lecture on Necromancy.
“Early as always?”
“Yeah. I was looking forward to this lecture!”
Eunhye clenched her fist tightly, burning with enthusiasm.
“I’m confident in Necromancy. I’ll work hard so I don’t fall behind you or Ji-yeon!”
Yu Eunhye in the original story had talent in Necromancy too.
That was also related to her secret...
Well, at this point, it didn’t matter.
Necromancy... I guess I’ll have to dig into that side too.
Necromancy was, in short, the technique of summoning ghosts, spirits, and anomalies.
For someone like me who lacked the guts and ability to fight directly, it was the best.
Well, that’s if I can learn it.
Just as I was waiting, a man approached with heavy footsteps.
The students who recognized the instructor were startled.
“Nice to meet you. I am Lee Jae-hak, in charge of Necromancy education.”
He was the one who conducted the practical exams and orientation.
That was why Lee Jae-hak, who held the position just below the Chairman even at Cheonjihae, had come to teach the lecture himself.
“Wow... If Lee Jae-hak is one of the top three exorcists in Necromancy, then why is he teaching new recruits?”
“No, isn’t that strange? Why would someone like him handle intern training?”
“The lecture is going to be tough...”
The students were not just surprised but bewildered.
“Shut up. This is my lecture. Who said you could chat? Want to get expelled?”
Lee Jae-hak suppressed the students with just a glance and a word.
“...I didn’t want to take on the lectures either. I didn’t plan on this originally.”
Lee Jae-hak scratched his head with an irritated expression.
“But damn it, the Chairman’s... superior’s order, what could I do?”
That guy. Was he trying to call the Chairman ‘Chairman bastard’ just now?
It seemed like he really didn’t like the current situation.
“It’s said that this cohort has a lot of dark horses.”
As Lee Jae-hak spoke, he glanced at me.
No way.
I hadn’t done anything yet.
“Well, since I’m in charge of the work, I won’t slack off. At least I’ll properly hammer into your heads what Necromancy is.”
Did he think the self-introduction and explanation from the conversation just now was enough?
Lee Jae-hak immediately started the lecture without further ado.
“Necromancy is a technique for handling anomalies. Exorcists who use Necromancy utilize the anomalies they have directly contracted to deal with other anomalies.”
Lee Jae-hak lightly raised his hand.
Then, his shadow came alive and waved happily.
“......”
Lee Jae-hak glared at the shadow.
The shadow jumped in surprise and quickly retreated inside and disappeared.
“...Many people think anomalies are evil and must be exterminated at all costs. However, looking at human history, things like yokai have often helped humans.”
Lee Jae-hak explained while slowly walking.
“You’ve probably heard stories of the Heavenly Great General, the Earthly Great General, or young ghosts playing with children.”
“Actually, in Korea, there were many cases where goblins interacted with people. They wrestled with them and gave gifts, or took away curses in exchange for gold and jewels.”
“The perception that ghosts are scary mostly comes from Japanese yokai. So, how many people know why there were originally many kind ghosts in Korea?”
One student raised their hand to answer.
“Is it because Koreans have deep affection?”
“You have the talent to say nonsense without batting an eye.”
The student who raised their hand blushed and sat down.
“Because tigers kill more people than ghosts.”
...Suddenly it became WWE from UFC.
“Actually, tigers with spiritual power overpower most yokai. Humans also call them ‘mountain gods’ and worship them. There’s no one who doesn’t know about the legends of the nine-tailed fox, right?”
Is he talking about what’s commonly called spirits?
Yeah, even if a yokai fox has nine tails, if it’s the same level, it can’t do anything to the tiger.
If there’s no tiger, the fox is king.
In other words, if there’s only a tiger, the fox is trash.
“The background explanation has gotten long, but Necromancy mainly contracts these human-friendly anomalies. Of course, there are cases where it doesn’t, but that’s up to the summoner’s preference, so we’ll skip that.”
Lee Jae-hak looked around at the students after saying that.
“I’m saying this just in case. It’s not that it’s invincible or has strong power. Rather, it’s dangerous and not very efficient.”
Lee Jae-hak lifted the corner of his mouth mockingly.
“If the exorcist weakens, the familiar may go berserk, or conversely, it may attack the summoner. In that sense, it’s a double-edged sword.”
He also mentioned there are many other disadvantages.
“Among exorcism techniques, efficiency is particularly poor. Basically, familiars consume a huge amount of spiritual power. Other professional exorcists can adjust the spiritual power on their own, but with familiars, since the base consumption is fixed, that’s impossible.”
One finger went up, now there were three.
“And most importantly, the difference in talent is huge. In other fields, you can reach a certain level with effort. On the other hand, Necromancy is impossible to start at all without minimal aptitude.”
Because of this, exorcists who use Necromancy are extremely rare.
Most new Cheonjihae recruits would be experiencing Necromancy for the first time.
I have no choice but to hope I have talent in this.
The faces of the students who had started to realize how difficult Necromancy was were growing gloomy.
“In this lecture, we’ll teach the basics of Necromancy and have you perform direct summoning. But I’ll guarantee that only about one in ten of you will be able to do it.”
This had nothing to do with effort or spiritual power.
It was purely a matter of whether you had the aptitude for summoning.
Well, geniuses can handle small familiars even if not their specialty.
After finishing the basic explanation, Lee Jae-hak held up a talisman.
“This talisman has the power to strongly connect with spiritual entities. I’ll give each of you one, so test your resonance ability with this. Those who feel nothing by the end of the lecture can skip coming to lectures from now on.”
After the explanation ended, the students began to gather.
After listening to Lee Jae-hak’s Spartan lecture, everyone was full of tension.
But there was also a strange sense of anticipation.
Lee Jae-hak himself only said the bad points...
But the highly regarded exorcist in Korea was using Necromancy right away.
It’s likely not going to work, but if it does, it’s a jackpot.
I’d have to be lucky.
“Ugh! Indeed, will it work? After listening to the lecture, I suddenly started getting nervous.”
Eunhye sighed while holding the talisman.
Given her timid personality, the lecture must have touched her deeply.
“I’m not particularly strong in spiritual power. What if I fail the summoning?”
“Let’s try to resonate slowly first. After all, if you have no talent, it’s useless.”
“U, yeah! You’re right. Let’s try!”
Honestly, I was more worried than Eunhye.
Eunhye definitely has talent, but I don’t have that either.
If I feel nothing, I’ll have to give up on the summoning side.
Then, the only answer would be to go to hell training on the fighting side.
Oh, my talisman. Please save this pathetic body of mine.
Did my earnest prayer reach the heavens?
As I closed my eyes and concentrated, the talisman started to hum.
“Wow! Do-hyung. It’s resonating!”
“Ah, so this is it?”
“Yeah! Once it resonates, we can form a summoning contract!”
...It actually worked?
The better than expected result made me feel strange.
“You seem to have some talent.”
I turned around startled by the voice from behind.
Lee Jae-hak, who had approached unnoticed, was looking down at me with an intrigued expression.
“Well, it’s just that you can make it to the starting line. Don’t get complacent with that.”
“Ah, yes.”
After all, what could be confirmed with this was that I could contract with a familiar.
Which familiar to summon.
Whether I had enough spiritual power to handle it.
That was a matter for the future.
“Don’t make any contracts yet. At this point, what’s coming is only minor ghosts.”
“Understood.”
“...Well, you’ll still be able to see you in the next lecture.”
Lee Jae-hak chuckled and moved to the other side.
So, I guess I could consider that I have some talent in the summoning side?
That’s fortunate.
I couldn’t handle anything great with my poor spiritual power.
But if I was lucky, I might be able to prepare means to fight.
“Hey, you’re amazing as always, Do-hyung.”
Eunhye scratched her head and said.
“I was confident in the summoning side too. You did it much faster than me?”
“Ah... It’s nothing special.”
I answered, feeling embarrassed.
“The instructor also said it was just confirming the possibility. It’s unknown how it will turn out.”
“Is that so? But since Do-hyung does well at everything, it should be fine this time too.”
Somehow, Eunhye’s energy seemed a bit deflated.
Was she deflated because I was getting attention even in her strong field?
Upon thinking about it, Eunhye is the real talent.
I needed to cheer her up before she got more depressed.
“You can do better than me, Eunhye? I’ll guarantee it, so try.”
“U, yeah! Then where...!”
Eunhye forced a bright smile and concentrated.
Soon, the same light flowed from the talisman as mine.
Eunhye also did it.
After all, someone with such unbelievable ability couldn’t fail at this...
-Puaaah!
At that moment, a black, sticky liquid burst from the talisman.
The liquid splashed on Eunhye’s clothes and body, wetting the front of her.
“Eh...?”
My eyes widened at the sight.
...This is an episode that should come out at least in the middle...
“Eunhye! Eunhye, snap out of it!”
I hurriedly grabbed Eunhye’s shoulders and shook her, but she didn’t react at all.
On the contrary, her pupils were completely filled with black, even the whites.
Soon, Eunhye’s lips, whether unconscious or not, spat out words.
A warped, slithering sound emerged from her mouth—not her own voice. It repeated her name in a terrifying, distorted tone, like something from beyond the veil.
Eunhye.
She is an exorcist who can contact the otherworldly entities if she goes berserk.