Ch.199198. Recruitment (3)

# 198. Recruitment (3)

“Suddenly there are so many.”

It wasn’t like this originally.

But the deeper I went into the dungeon, more and more monsters began to appear.

As if someone was trying to protect themselves.

“A necromancer perhaps?”

Necromancer.

A general term for someone who can summon or control monsters.

And it’s not just used for people, but for monsters as well.

“This is a bit tricky…”

And perhaps because this was an A-rank low-level dungeon, the magical energy was no joke.

To summon this many monsters…

As the monsters approached without giving me a moment to rest, I continued to swing my sword without pause, just like them.

-Slash!! Crack!!-

At times like this, I really regretted not being able to use magic.

If I could use area-of-effect magic, I could clear this easily.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I have no options.’

Still, it was better to save it.

With countless monsters, the Abyss might get full before I even see the necromancer’s face.

But this was getting annoying.

-Woong..!-

The Abyss appeared reluctantly.

I commanded the Abyss, which had frozen the enormous number of monsters in place.

“Eat them, but only half.”

With that command, I lightly slashed in their direction.

As if it had been waiting, the Abyss emerged and devoured them one by one.

-Gooo!!-

The monsters, terrified as they watched their companions being eaten before their eyes, quickly turned and fled from the Abyss.

But of course, there was no way they could escape.

“Hmm… so it seems the command gets broken.”

Necromancers give orders to the monsters they summon and control.

And those orders must be followed.

But from what I was seeing, the extreme pressure created by the Abyss seemed capable of breaking those commands.

“Would it work on mine too?”

In my previous life, I never encountered a necromancer with this much of a gap in power compared to me.

The only necromancers I met were monsters like Bael.

After all, 99% of necromancers are high-ranking demons.

“Come to think of it, this is quite unusual.”

I walked through the area the Abyss had swept through, marveling at this fact.

The floor was incredibly clean since it had devoured everything, including the monsters’ corpses and blood.

“This is nice.”

Normally, I would have had to step over those filthy corpses, but now there was no need.

It was definitely a skill with reliable performance.

Though it had clear limitations, it didn’t consume magical energy and wasn’t tiring at all.

“I shouldn’t rely too much on this kind of thing…”

If I had obtained such a skill in my previous life, she would have scolded me.

-If you keep using skills like that, your fundamentals won’t improve. So don’t use it until I say you can!-

She would have said something like that, but now it didn’t matter since no one had fundamentals as solid as mine.

And from the beginning, I was making sure my fundamentals remained strong even with such skills.

“Oh… it’s back?”

As I continued walking, I noticed the Abyss slowly returning from the far end.

It somehow looked disappointed.

“Feeling unsatisfied?”

When I asked, a dejected cry was heard.

-Gooo…-

It seemed my guess about the reason was correct.

Usually, I’d let it eat until it was full, but this time I said only half, so it was understandable.

“I’ll call you again later. That’s enough for now.”

-Goo…-

The Abyss returned to the sword, still looking dejected.

I hurried my steps to find more food for this friend who still seemed hungry.

‘I should move quickly.’

So I walked for 1 minute… 5 minutes… 10 minutes.

Yet there wasn’t a shadow of even a mouse, let alone monsters.

“How deep inside is it… and how much did it eat…?”

Its stomach definitely seemed to have grown lately, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.

It must be in a growth phase.

“I wonder if it’s getting taller too.”

Just as I was talking nonsense, suddenly magical energy burst from the ground.

I immediately dodged.

-Crack!!-

A giant spear emerged from where I had been standing.

I looked at the spear that had aimed for my life, and the culprit who had summoned it beneath me.

“A skeleton, no… a necromancer?”

A skeleton with not a trace of flesh.

This skeleton, not knowing its place, wore a robe and held a staff.

And it seemed to know how to speak human language, as it answered my question.

-Are you… the person who sent that monster?-

Occasionally, there are monsters that can speak human language.

Monsters with human forms like us, those that have lived in human territories for a long time, and extremely powerful monsters.

Usually, it’s one of these cases.

And this one fell into the first category.

“What if I am?”

-Do you wish to die?-

“Try to kill me, baldy.”

-Wh-what!? I’m a woman!?-

“Ah… so that’s the issue…”

I didn’t know these creatures had genders.

And I also realized this one wasn’t alone.

I sliced through a fire-attribute magic spell that flew toward my head with a single stroke.

-H-how did you…?-

At that moment, the necromancers, realizing they were in danger, hurriedly summoned monsters.

-Uwaaa!! Keeek!!-

Various monsters appeared, making different cries.

They loudly commanded the monsters they had summoned.

“Kill that bastard!!”

The monsters charged toward me, not knowing fear.

I activated two of my unique skills against them.

-Woong!!-

The monsters stopped as if they had forgotten their orders.

I smiled at those who were bewildered by the sight.

Then I slashed only the monsters around me.

Again, with a single stroke.

-Slash!!!-

Dozens of monsters were cut down with just one swing of my sword.

I looked at the arrogant skeletons who thought they could stop me with such low-level monsters and said:

“Surely this isn’t all?”

-Tch… I thought we could handle this without their help…-

“Their help…?”

At that moment, I heard massive footsteps.

-Thud! Thud!-

And with those footsteps, an unexpectedly enormous presence enveloped me.

It was definitely not an ordinary monster.

That’s why I…

-Slash!!-

I moved frantically, trying to kill as many enemies as possible before “they” arrived.

First, I needed to kill those necromancers.

-Whoosh!-

Using [Transcendence] and [Swiftness], I charged at them at my maximum speed.

Then I took down those necromancers one by one.

-Slash!-

One.

-Slash!-

Two.

-Slash!-

Three.

And finally…

-W-wait a moment!-

“There’s no ‘wait a moment’ here.”

I split the female skeleton’s head in two as she cried out for a moment’s pause.

-Crack!-

Fortunately, I managed to clean up all the small fry before that one arrived.

And when I cut down the last skeleton, the source of that presence revealed itself before my eyes.

As I expected, it was an enormous skeleton… or not.

“Pfft…”

A small figure reminiscent of a pet, with a giant staff that didn’t match its tiny body.

It had a cute appearance that somehow made me laugh.

But that didn’t mean I could let my guard down.

Even now, an enormous presence that didn’t match its small stature was flowing from it.

This small giant looked at the blood-stained scene and spoke:

-Did… you do this?-

“What if I did?”

-Really? I find that hard to believe.-

“You don’t have to believe it. I’ll show you directly.”

-Oh? Then show me.-

With those words, the giant swung its staff.

Massive amounts of magical energy spread throughout the dungeon.

And that magic breathed life back into those who had lost it.

“So this one was the real deal…”

Everything I had killed stood up again, completely intact.

I couldn’t help but be amazed at the sight.

“Wow…”

-What? Can’t you show me?-

Such an innocent voice.

But that voice pricked my pride.

I asked the little one:

“Can I kill you first?”

-I don’t see why not, but no one who’s tried has ever left alive.-

“Of course, because if they had, you wouldn’t be here now.”

I pointed my sword at the little one.

Then, ignoring everything else, I targeted it.

The little one smiled enigmatically and said:

-Everyone, kill this one.-

***

The crown princess, who had returned to her country after a very long time for some reason.

As soon as she returned, she rushed to watch him taking the test.

“But His Majesty would be upset if…”

“More importantly! Is this really an A-rank low-level dungeon? It doesn’t seem like it…!?”

“Actually, it’s not. It’s an A-rank mid-level dungeon.”

“What were you thinking…!”

“But that wasn’t our decision.”

“What…?”

The tone and expression suggested not a trace of falsehood.

If anything, Andres seemed apologetic to her.

Seeing his expression, she had no choice but to believe him, and quickly thought of another possibility.

“Don’t tell me…? Father?”