Ch.3Outside of the Blanket Is Dangerous (3)

After becoming a shut-in, one of my new hobbies was watching Awakened streamers.

Since they possessed bodies and skills different from ordinary humans, their outlandish broadcasts were entertaining just to watch.

“Pfft. They failed at that.”

While I was laughing mindlessly, a broadcast with an intriguing title appeared in the new streaming list.

[Necromancer Newbie: Day 3 of Raising a Million-Strong Army]

“……”

In today’s world, there were many different types of hunters, but necromancy-type Awakened were quite rare.

So honestly, I couldn’t help but be interested.

Click.

“Can you see this? This is the skeleton archer I made by staying up all night yesterday. Looks super strong, right?”

Upon entering the broadcast, I immediately noticed a woman with a refreshing vibe.

From what I could tell, she was in her early twenties, and her first impression was extremely energetic.

Perhaps because there were only twenty-seven viewers, the streamer noticed me and greeted me.

“Oh, hello HellLord12! Since you’re here, would you like to see a trick?”

Before I could answer, the woman handed a rubber bow to the skeleton, placed an apple on her head, and ran off somewhere.

About 5 meters away?

The skeleton, following orders, fired the bow with force.

Ping!

Thud!

“Ouch!”

And it hit the woman right in the forehead.

It was truly terrible control.

“Ah, geez. Hey. You did well yesterday, didn’t you? Is it because I didn’t feed you?”

At this failed trick, laughter erupted in the chat.

– LOL lol

– How are you going to fight if you can’t even hit that?

– Our skeleton said it doesn’t have enough magical power lol

– Waaah. I’m baby skeleton archer. Magic power low.

While some responses were playful, there were also malicious comments belittling her skills.

– Wow, you’re really bad. I came to watch because I heard “newbie necromancer.”

– With skills like that, you’d just be a liability as a hunter

Summoner types need friend-or-foe identification above all else, regardless of rank.

“I’m still practicing! I’ll get better soon, right? Hehe.”

The way she smoothly handled even those comments showed that her mental fortitude was top-notch.

Watching this scene, I felt a strange sense of warmth.

‘…Newbies really are cute.’

Diligently gathering materials to create skeletons, adjusting balance, and improving control.

It had that genuine beginner feel that I liked.

‘And…’

While ignorant people were busy criticizing her as incompetent, I could tell. She had quite a talent for necromancy.

‘For a complete novice’s hastily patched-together skeleton, it looks surprisingly sturdy.’

I had entered the stream out of boredom, but now I was genuinely interested.

I clicked the follow button and immediately sent a message through the whisper system.

– That’s not how you do it.

When you see a newbie, you can’t help but give advice.

#

‘What is this all about?’

Song Hayeon was a fresh new hunter who had Awakened just two months ago.

She was also a novice streamer.

Her title was “Corpse Enthusiast of the Graveyard.”

She was a rare necromancy-type Awakened in Korea.

Because of this uniqueness, she decided to use it to stand out in her broadcasts. She wasn’t confident about becoming a high-ranked hunter anyway, and her goal was simply to earn enough wealth for a comfortable life.

Three days into starting her broadcast, as she was steadily gathering viewers, a strange person appeared.

– That’s not how you do it.

This advice came to her as she was methodically creating skeleton-type undead.

At first, she naturally thought it was just trolling and tried to brush it off. Self-proclaimed internet experts’ advice was never reliable.

What made Hayeon start to wonder was after reading all of the viewer’s subsequent advice.

‘Bury materials in damp soil where sunlight doesn’t reach? With animal blood?’

And then expose it to death energy whenever possible. For a total of 3 days.

‘I do have the death energy concentration skill, so it’s not impossible, but…’

It sounded extremely troublesome just hearing about it. If it was a prank, she’d be wasting time and effort.

However, the advice was too detailed to dismiss as nonsense made up on the spot.

When she experimentally asked for advice on difficulties she’d encountered while creating skeletons alone, fluent answers flowed without hesitation.

‘Is this person really an Awakened of the same type?’

And with this level of knowledge, they couldn’t be just some random person.

Eventually, unable to resist her curiosity, Hayeon followed the instructions from the viewer named HellLord12.

And she was shocked.

“Huh?”

Creak. Crick-creak.

The skeleton she created this way clearly possessed power different from her previous ones.

“It wasn’t a joke but real?”

Until then, Hayeon was just happy about the unexpected luck. She thought an established hunter had seen a fresh newbie on broadcast and shared some tips.

But.

– Do you have any magic stones? I’ll teach you a magic circle, and if you engrave it and collect death energy at graves, you can use it for creating other undead.

– Training low-intelligence types that way is useless. There’s a mechanism to this, so just do as I say.

When those tips didn’t end with just one but became increasingly detailed, Hayeon finally realized something was strange.

‘Wait, who is this person?’

This wasn’t normal.

After all, even the most skilled necromancy-type hunter in Korea was only in the upper B-rank, and there was no trace of these methods in his combat videos.

In other words, this viewer named HellLord12 wasn’t just an ordinary established hunter.

‘W-why would someone like this…?’

In today’s modern society, power was law and authority. Accordingly, such information held tremendous value that couldn’t be measured in money.

Yet they were freely giving it away under the guise of advice, so Hayeon couldn’t understand the situation at all.

‘Is there some kind of conspiracy? Am I going to be kidnapped?’

When she casually probed with a question due to her growing anxiety, HellLord12’s answer was simple:

– I’m just bored and sharing knowledge. Take it or leave it.

It wasn’t convincing, but somehow it didn’t feel like a lie.

In other words, Hayeon might be facing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

– No, teacher! Please guide me! I’ll follow you forever! Is there anything you want in return?

After a moment of silence.

Just as she was about to send another message, HellLord12’s reply came:

– Then, just do me one favor.

#

“…How ironic.”

I never took disciples over there, yet now that I’ve lost my power, I’ve unexpectedly gained a disciple.

I received certain items from Song Hayeon, with whom I formed a temporary master-disciple relationship.

The contents were three magic stones in which Hayeon had collected death energy herself.

‘Technically illegal, but…’

They were just low-grade magic stones with relatively loose management, and it was fine as long as we weren’t caught.

‘I still can’t feel it here either.’

Death energy (死氣) – the energy most needed by necromancers to wield their power.

For some reason, I was currently unable to sense it.

‘But if I use death energy that someone has already refined like this.’

Could I possibly use necromancy in my current state?

That’s why I was out on the neighborhood hill on this cold day, wearing a hoodie pulled down over my face.

‘Theoretically, it should be possible.’

I had actually thought of this method quite some time ago.

However, finding a collaborator in Korea, where necromancy-type Awakened were scarce, was absurd, and even if possible, it would be meaningless since I couldn’t do anything alone.

But now, my thinking had changed a bit.

‘I heard there were multiple serious injuries from a sudden gate break in the neighboring town last week…’

It was a small goblin dungeon, so the damage was limited, but it could have escalated into a major incident.

So who knows?

Maybe I’ll just drop dead one day due to extraordinarily bad luck in some unexpected situation.

‘…That’s a bit much.’

Looking at my current state, it was clear I had no connection with luck, so there was no harm in making minimal preparations.

Insurance for contingencies. Simply for that reason.

‘This is perfect timing.’

There’s a sparrow that seems to have just died. It was sufficient material for a test.

Thud.

I crouched in front of the corpse and took out the magic stone filled with death energy to begin.

Whoosh.

In my current state, I couldn’t sense death energy. So I couldn’t tell if things were going according to plan, but having done this countless times before, there would be no mistakes.

Rustle.

As I completed the ritual, the remaining skin and feathers on the corpse rapidly dispersed like dust. Success.

“Stand up.”

The sparrow, revived with only bones remaining, moved its skeletal body and stood in place.

“Right wing.”

Creak.

“Left wing.”

Crick.

Perfect. It was following my commands exactly.

After a moment of silence, I felt exhilaration rising throughout my body.

‘I really succeeded.’

Honestly, I thought the chances were fifty-fifty. It seemed theoretically possible, but judging from past failures, this world seemed determined to block that possibility.

But I finally succeeded.

Even if it was a meaningless achievement, it was my first victory since falling here.

So how could I not be happy?

“Heh.”

In a good mood, I smiled and let out a meaningless laugh.

Yes. Whatever happened, I am the Lord of Death. The master of the netherworld.

In the end, I was a being that couldn’t be stopped by the laws of a single dimension.

I am a real necromancer!

I can control the dead!

Following my emotional fluctuation, the sparrow also flapped its wing bones, joining in.

Creak. Creak!

“Yes. You’re right. Today is a celebration.”

I rushed home and ordered chicken.

#

‘…He’s really enjoying that.’

Baek Seoha, returning home after another day of hard work, thought as she ate the chicken her brother had ordered.

“Heh. Here, have the drumstick.”

“Ah, yes. Thanks.”

Baek Eunha, apparently in an exceptionally good mood, couldn’t hide the smile welling up from deep inside as he grinned broadly.

Did her brother realize how cute he looked right now?

As she watched Baek Eunha move the drumstick to her plate like a considerate elder, Baek Seoha thought:

No matter what, this kind of life isn’t so bad after all.