Ch.22Chapter 22. The Necromancer’s Tomb (2)

Chapter 22. The Necromancer’s Tomb (2)

“A priest and a chieftain, I see. I’ll call you Chieftain Nix.”

Calling someone “Chieftain and Priest Nix” feels a bit much.

It’s not like they’re someone who uses both parents’ surnames.

“It’s an honor, Great One.”

[Nix has become your servant.]

Another servant added to my collection.

“Wait a moment, I have something to take care of.”

“Understood.”

Actually, there’s nothing I need to take care of—I just said that to catch my breath.

To be honest, I’m mentally exhausted. I’ve done too much work over the past five days.

Still, I can’t just say I want to rest for a few days. I might consider it if there was nothing to do, but I can’t slack off when there’s work to be done.

“Alright. Let’s begin.”

In my letter, I requested the Sky Tree tribe to go to the Necromancer’s Tomb. If they summoned me, I assume they’ve completed the preparations.

“About that…”

Nix, the chieftain and priest of the Sky Tree tribe, hesitated.

“…The letter mentioned that Malak is newly awakened. It said you might not know much about the surface world. Is that correct?”

“Is that a problem?”

Thinking I might be displeased, Nix immediately knelt down to apologize.

“No. There’s no need for that. I’m genuinely curious. Does it affect our task?”

“…Lord Roa Malak, do you know what the Necromancer’s Tomb is?”

Honestly, I’ve only been there once in the game, so I don’t know much about it.

“What kind of place is it?”

“It’s where the Outcast Charon, the greatest priest of all time, is buried.”

“Greatest of all time” means “all-time number one.”

So what? Isn’t he just dead?

I don’t know this lore, but it doesn’t seem particularly important.

“Charon was a betrayer of the Roa and the people. He learned forbidden magic and brought great calamity to the surface.”

Nix unfolded his story like a village elder.

In summary, the Necromancer’s Tomb is where they buried the guy who nearly caused a zombie apocalypse in the distant past. The world almost ended, apparently.

After Ishtania, the goddess who protects the Empire, and her blessed paladins defeated Charon, they sensed an ominous energy and sealed everything related to him in the tomb.

Ishtania… right, that was her name. She was a significant figure in the game’s story setting, but as I recall, she never appeared except in the prologue.

In the community, some people claimed that the game company that possessed us might be Goddess Ishtania.

The hypothesis was that we weren’t possessed into a game but into an alternate world destroyed by a demonic apocalypse.

I don’t think it matters whether it’s an alternate world or a game. Either way, some transcendent bastard brought us here.

“Are you saying we can’t go?”

I don’t plan to force them.

The skills obtainable from the Necromancer’s Tomb weren’t particularly high priority anyway.

“The Outcast Charon hates the Roa. That tomb is filled with his hatred. It might not be good for you, Lord Malak.”

The concern on his face suggests he’s not making excuses to avoid going.

“I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need to worry. Can we go?”

After all, I’m not a real Roa. And it feels awkward to back out now because of some dead guy.

How strong can zombies be compared to demons?

“If that is your wish… We’ve prepared for the expedition. We can leave right away.”

“Let’s do that.”

Being a portable mini-totem, I became an ornament attached to Nix’s waist.

She led five of the tribe’s strongest warriors down the mountain.

Unlike the Blue Moss tribe’s territory, this area had many demonic eyes and infected creatures.

They had to check their surroundings almost every ten steps.

“There are too many mutated beasts. We’ll have to take a detour.”

Nix was about to change course after spotting a pack of over thirty infected dogs.

No, at this rate, we won’t get there today.

I understand avoiding demonic eyes, but can’t they handle infected creatures?

“Chieftain Nix, can’t you deal with the infected?”

If Nix and the warriors had even half of Kanto’s combat power, they could hunt them quickly.

“…It’s possible, but the warriors might get injured. That would hinder our journey to the tomb.”

“I’ll bestow my blessing. Don’t worry and fight.”

This is exactly what the healing totem is for.

I activated the blessing, and immediately a 10-meter radius was bathed in blue light.

“Aah…!”

Nix and the warriors visibly rejoiced.

“Can you win?”

“Of course.”

Nix and the warriors, wielding sickles, attacked the infected. The result was, naturally, a great victory.

Injured warriors were completely healed.

The speed of our descent from the mountain increased exponentially, and soon we reached level ground.

“Lord Malak, we’re almost there.”

“I see.”

With some time left before arrival, I checked the community.

The community is the only medium that reminds me I’m still human and of my home on Earth.

Accessing it regularly gives me psychological stability.

[CowBikiniDance: Raise your hand if your nickname is terrible lol

I’ll go first lolol]

Oh.

[VeryBlackFemaleInmate: lol]

[JujiCantMoveWhenPunched: lol lol]

[SsangmundongMomDispensersDestroyer: lol lol lol]

[68YearOldGrandmaKimJeomSoonsFinalJetKick: lol lol lol lol]

[UltraSansMadWithMoonlightMassacreMode: lol lol lol lol lol]

I joined right away. Still, mine is the most normal one.

While I was killing time browsing the community:

“We’ve arrived.”

I turned my attention to the tomb buried in undergrowth. A small, old tomb that looked centuries old.

It appears small, but in the game, once you open the door disguised as a coffin and go underground, it expands dramatically.

The grass near the tomb is slightly flattened. Signs that someone entered. Probably that user Rinojohnnson.

“We’re going in.”

Nix and the warriors advanced, cutting the grass with their sickles. All their weapons were sickles.

I suddenly became curious. Why are they carrying sickles when they don’t farm?

“Is there a reason all your warriors use sickles as weapons?”

When I carefully asked, Nix gave a bitter smile.

“Our ancestors lived in the plains for generations. A place where weeds grew taller than people. That was until there were too many demons and we fled to the mountains.”

She said there was originally another chieftain who died during their escape to the mountains. With no warrior stronger than her, she ended up taking on the role of chieftain as well.

“…”

When I briefly looked around the tribe earlier, the Sky Tree tribe had fewer than thirty members. So that’s what happened.

I should think about how to help them. It would be good if there were other intact tribes nearby.

The warriors opened the coffin and entered the tomb, relying on the blue light emanating from my body (the totem) to move.

As expected, the inside of the tomb was very spacious. Almost like an underground base.

“Do any of you see hallucinations or hear voices?”

“We’re fine. In fact, I feel better than before.”

The healing totem was working well.

“Don’t stray too far from me.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.”

As we went deeper, we heard strange sounds.

“Grrrr…”

“Uuuuu…”

Nix and the warriors moved stealthily, hiding behind rocks.

The source of the sounds was zombies. Armed soldiers with swords and armor. Twelve of them.

They appear to be the original guardians of this place. Something ominous must have happened here.

“Should we eliminate them?”

Nix whispered.

“Cut off or destroy their heads, and they won’t move again. Be careful not to get bitten.”

“Haaa!”

Nix and the warriors charged forward, slicing the zombies’ necks with their sickles.

The creatures fell back to the ground without much resistance. They’re weaker than I expected. That’s when it happened.

“The voices, the voices! Aaaagh!”

One warrior who had moved away from me while killing zombies screamed, tearing at his hair. An unexpected situation.

“Quickly, bring him here!”

Nix and the warriors approached him. The guy quickly regained his composure.

As in the game, the monsters that appear are weak, but the area has strong debuffs.

“Don’t leave my side. I’m blocking the curse of this tomb.”

Currently, I’m an infinite debuff-removal totem that continuously neutralizes status ailments. Stay by my side and you’ll be safe.

It’s strange that a curse still lingers in the tomb of someone who died long ago. How deep must his grudge have been?

“We just need to find the ‘Book of the Dead’ that Charon possessed.”

In the game, you needed that item to receive the skill. Let’s find it quickly and leave.

Nix and the warriors proceeded more cautiously than before, taking one step at a time.

Eventually, we discovered a space entirely covered in murals.

A bookshelf in front of the murals was filled with books, and in the center of the mural, these words were inscribed:

[The worshipper cannot understand the idol, nor can the idol understand the worshipper; this is the cycle of tragedy.]

Fucking ominous.