Ch.200200. Necromancer

Thump, thump.

The sound of Deus Verdi’s footsteps gradually faded as he walked away from his conversation with Mul, followed by the closing of the dining room door.

Creeeeak.

Simultaneously, a woman emerged from a guest room. Long stitches stretched across various parts of her body, and she surveyed her surroundings with hollow eyes.

It was the woman who had been severely beaten by Zortu. Her injuries should have resulted in fractures throughout her body, yet somehow her upper body had returned to its original state.

However, her lower body remained grotesquely twisted, suggesting she hadn’t had enough time to fully recover.

Because of this, the woman quickly crawled across the floor toward the first-floor entrance.

Blood had congealed on the floor.

His white robe was already stained crimson, and his handsome face was soaked in blood.

“Hm.”

The necromancer woman couldn’t help but snicker at the corpse.

A clean corpse, except for the stake driven through its neck. Though the body was somewhat thin, it was tall enough, so that didn’t matter.

“Hehehe.”

The woman bit the collar of his clothes with her teeth and began crawling back to her room, 108.

“Hehehehe.”

The laughter flowing from her was utterly grotesque.

* * *

When I arrived at the dining room, the three people abruptly stopped their conversation. The Dark Spiritmaster and Hanso seemed to have been asking Luanes something, but it appeared to be trivial talk.

“What about that guy?”

I answered the Dark Spiritmaster’s indifferent question without hiding anything.

“He’s dead.”

“Did you kill him?”

Hanso asked with a rather complicated expression, but I naturally shook my head in denial.

“He took his own life. He asked to meet outside.”

As I said this, I explained the new rules I had learned through Mul’s death.

-11. The higher the room number, the later the time period the guest is from.

-15. There is no daytime in Mongmajeon.

“Hmm, I knew this wasn’t an ordinary place, but it’s quite bizarre.”

“Since I’m in room 101, I must be from the earliest time period.”

“No daytime?”

Hanso, Luanes, and the Dark Spiritmaster each showed different reactions. I particularly kept a close eye on Luanes, who was remarkably thoughtful and composed for his age.

“Hmm, there seem to be some strange ones among the guests. What do you think? Should we join forces and escape together?”

As Hanso suggested while stroking his chin, Luanes was the first to respond.

“Can… can I join too?”

In response to the kind boy’s concern about being a burden, Hanso stroked his head and answered:

“Of course. We’ve already survived once thanks to you!”

He glanced at the Dark Spiritmaster and me, checking if we were okay with it.

The Dark Spiritmaster had been interested in Luanes’s Black Magic from the beginning, so she agreed, and I, knowing the boy’s future, had no intention of leaving him behind.

And so began our rule-sharing session.

The rules we discovered are as follows:

– Mongmajeon Rules –

-1. A private room is provided. Your room is 110.

-2. Refrain from going out at night. If you do go out, you are responsible for the consequences.

-3. The master of this mansion is the Great Demon Learic. Please always remember that.

-4. Guests are permitted up to the third floor.

-5. The total duration of stay at Mongmajeon is five days, after which forced eviction will occur.

-6. Combat activities within Mongmajeon are not recommended.

-7. The clock is located in the center of the first floor. Please don’t waste other guests’ time by asking them for the time.

-8. After five days, if you are expelled from Mongmajeon, you will lose all memories of what happened here.

-9. Rules about Mongmajeon are written throughout the mansion. Find them and you’ll receive a prize.

-10. Among the guests-

-11. The higher the room number, the later the time period the guest is from.

-13. You must not explain to other guests how you came to Mongmajeon.

-14. You can only possess two items obtained as rewards. (Provided by Hanso)

-15. There is no daytime in Mongmajeon.

-17. Cleaning is done daily. (Provided by Luanes)

-20. Even if you don’t know the rules of Mongmajeon, the rules still apply.

-21. Meals are replenished daily. Please feel free to eat as much as you want.

-22. Deceased guests leave behind the rules they knew.

-23. The belongings of deceased guests remain in the mansion without an owner.

-24. When a guest dies, their room opens. Until then, entry is prohibited even if the room owner permits it.

-27. Guest rooms go up to 110. There is no room 111. If you discover room 111 and someone is staying there, kill them immediately. They are uninvited intruders.

-28. There are no servants in Mongmajeon.

-29. There is no fourth floor in Mongmajeon.

With the addition of rules known by Hanso and Luanes, we had already discovered quite a number of them.

“Was rule number 10 cut off from the beginning?”

“Yes.”

It was already missing when I first arrived.

Luanes, who had arrived first in room 101, answered, and Hanso agreed, saying it was suspicious.

The missing part of rule 10 had been bothering me from the start.

There must be a reason why it was deliberately cut off like that.

“I find rule 27 a bit scary.”

“Hmm, I checked all the room numbers. There was no room 111.”

As I absentmindedly listened to Luanes and Hanso’s conversation about the rules with one ear while staring at the list, the Dark Spiritmaster beside me suddenly asked:

“What do you think?”

Her gaze, as she brushed back her flowing hair, contained a strange expectation.

“Looking at them, some rules seem to contradict each other.”

Listing out the rules of Mongmajeon, it was clear that the Great Demon Learic had quite a twisted sense of humor.

“For example, rule 2 says to refrain from going out at night.”

My finger slid across the rule numbers to point at rule 15.

“But rule 15 states there is no daytime in Mongmajeon.”

In other words, it meant don’t leave Mongmajeon at all.

“Also, rule 4 says guests are permitted up to the third floor.”

I slowly removed my hand and turned my attention to the rule at the very end.

“But rule 29 says there is no fourth floor in Mongmajeon.”

The common feature was that they pretended things existed when they didn’t.

There’s no daytime, and no fourth floor.

But when you only know one rule, it cleverly implies these things exist.

“Befitting a demon of deception.”

At my words, the Dark Spiritmaster sighed deeply and slumped down in the dining room chair.

After our discussion about Mongmajeon, we went to rooms 109 and 107, which had been assigned to Mul and Zortu, to retrieve the rewards they had received for finding rules.

The rewards Zortu had for knowing three rules were a ring, a necklace, and a bracelet.

I wondered if the accessories had any magic cast on them, but they didn’t. They weren’t items worth more than their monetary value.

In contrast, the items Mul had obtained for knowing four rules were all splendid treasures.

A staff made of black lantern wood that gave the illusion it was prepared specifically for me.

A robe with red magic circles on a black background that provided absolute defensive magic, though with a 10-minute time limit.

There were other treasures as well, like a white dagger imbued with various spells and a thick circular shield with a golden lion emblem.

I gave the dagger to Luanes for self-defense, and the shield to Hanso since he was the only one who could handle it.

I kept the staff and robe for myself.

The Dark Spiritmaster looked envious, but since I seemed to be the cause of Mul’s death, I felt I had ownership rights.

As time passed…

“Yaaawn.”

The youngest, Luanes, seemed tired and let out a yawn, so he returned to his room with Hanso.

I too slowly got up to return to my room, but the Dark Spiritmaster, sipping her coffee, caught my eye.

She had no intention of getting up and was just staring blankly at the rules we had written down.

Since she seemed to want to be alone, I was about to leave the dining room without saying anything when…

“Hey.”

The trembling voice of the Dark Spiritmaster stopped me.

As I slowly closed the dining room door and looked at her, she made a complicated expression and then shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing.”

A lingering statement.

If it had been someone else, I might have just left without paying much attention, but because it was the Dark Spiritmaster, I didn’t move.

“Seems like you have something on your mind.”

“Huh?”

She seemed surprised that I would continue the conversation, and I slowly returned to the dining room.

I sat down not far from her. I thought about having some coffee too, but instead just placed my hands on the table and interlocked my fingers.

“Have you grown attached to your companions?”

“Me? To you all?”

At my question, the Dark Spiritmaster shrugged as if it was absurd, but…

“The you I know was a woman with a lot of affection.”

With that one statement, the Dark Spiritmaster’s body stiffened, and her eyes fixed directly on me.

“…You said you didn’t know me well.”

She pointed out that during our first meeting, I had said I didn’t know much about her, but I didn’t bother to respond.

She would probably realize I had deliberately hidden it, even without explanation.

“What was our relationship?”

To the Dark Spiritmaster’s question, I answered without hesitation.

“You were my master.”

“…Huh?”

A completely unexpected answer.

She stared at me with wide, round eyes and moved her chair closer, seemingly wanting more explanation, but…

I continued with a question rather than an explanation.

“So, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

There was a question I had wanted to ask the Dark Spiritmaster if given the chance.

A question I had tried to ask many times but never could.

I somewhat cunningly directed it at her past self.

“Why do you want to see the end of necromancy?”

“……”

I had always been curious.

After all, the reason the Dark Spiritmaster accompanied me was to master all aspects of necromancy.

Yet, when fighting Magan, she had cryptically said she hoped I wouldn’t become like her.

If the Dark Spiritmaster from my time found out about this, she would call it unfair, but…

I needed to know.

As someone traveling with her.

In response to my question, the Dark Spiritmaster slowly closed her mouth. But it wasn’t that she found it difficult to answer; rather, she seemed to be organizing her thoughts.

After a brief wait…

Not particularly impatient, I looked around the dining room while waiting, and the Dark Spiritmaster finally gave an honest answer.

“…What was it again?”

* * *

Clunk.

Entering room 101, Luanes rarely felt his expression relaxing and filling with elation.

‘Companions.’

Starting with Hanso, then the Dark Spiritmaster and Deus Verdi. Becoming companions with these three impressive people was quite a fantastic thing for the young boy.

Born as the king’s illegitimate son, he had been treated almost like an exile and driven from the capital, Greyfond.

His only solace and connection to others had been the occasional letters from his father.

Now that he had formed equal relationships where they were responsible for each other’s lives, Luanes felt like he could fly.

“I can’t be a burden.”

Though tired, instead of lying down immediately, he swung the white dagger he had received into the air.

Since he couldn’t use the magic contained within it in the room, he thought he would at least practice some basic self-defense.

As it happened, being a prince whose existence was not permitted, he had a broad range of learning, and he recalled the dagger self-defense techniques he had learned in the past.

Bang bang!

Startled by the rough knocking on the door, Luanes asked:

“Who is it?”

Bang bang!

Though he thought he had hidden the tremor in his voice well, whoever was outside showed no sign of stopping their knocking.

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

It felt more like something heavy hitting the door rather than knocking with hands.

The clever Luanes easily realized that the person was headbutting the door.

It wasn’t his companions, that’s for sure.

So there was no reason to open the door, but…

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang!

The noise continued.

By now, it seemed like someone nearby would notice.

Should I go out and fight?

He thought about it but quickly shook his head.

Although he knew Black Magic, his proficiency was insufficient for combat use.

Just as he was about to cover himself with the blanket and pretend to sleep…

The noise stopped.

Thinking it was over, he peeked out from under the blanket to check the door.

But mocking the boy’s expectations, a small thread came through the gap. The strands began to multiply exponentially and soon took the form of a human hand.

“Huh?”

Luanes, who had already lain down in bed trying to ignore it, couldn’t react.

Click.

The hand made of thread unlocked the door and turned the doorknob.

The boy’s room opened very smoothly to welcome the uninvited guest.

Luanes immediately grabbed the dagger and stood up.

Despite his young age, the boy’s mind was working intelligently.

‘If the other person is a guest like me, they can’t enter this room.’

-24. When a guest dies, their room opens. Until then, entry is prohibited even if the room owner permits it.

Even with Luanes’s permission, they couldn’t enter freely.

But…

“Huh?”

Standing in front of the boy’s door was Mul, wearing an iron mask and a blood-stained robe.

That is, the man who had just committed suicide. The body had disappeared, so he thought Mongmajeon had disposed of it separately.

“He-hehe.”

A chilling laugh from the necromancer woman behind Mul’s corpse.

“You’ve been raised preciously, haven’t you? It shows.”

“……”

From outside the threshold, the woman continued, seemingly excited about something.

“A child’s corpse of at least high nobility or even royalty… I’ve never touched one before!”

“You’ll regret it if you enter my room!”

It was a warning and the only resistance Luanes could offer, but…

“I’m not the one entering.”

The woman’s statement implied she already knew rule 24.

At the same time, the corpse of Mul began to walk step by step toward Luanes.

Shortly after, the necromancer woman crossed the threshold into the room.

And the door to room 101 closed.

-24. When a guest dies, their room opens. Until then, entry is prohibited even if the room owner permits it.