Necromancer Survival

     Annoyingly, I felt so invigorated.

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     “…What are you doing?” The Priest said.

     “What?”

     “I gave you all the necessary buffs.” Bae Jaemin hurt my pride with his cold words that seemed to question why I was standing still when the Priest had done all he needed to do.

     I glared at Bae Jaemin with eyes that didn’t even try to hide my frustration, but I was even more annoyed because the other wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t want to seem clumsy in front of him.

     ‘Damn… The issue, though, is that I can’t figure out the best way to clear this dungeon.’

     However–though the thought may make me tear up–it was true that my skills were dreadful, so it was difficult for me to take the initiative.
If I were to advance clumsily, Bae Jaemin might notice my weird behavior…

     So, after contemplating, I copied Jung Garam’s most unwilling and despicable face and said to the Priest, “You take the lead.”

     “……?”

     “How can I trust you enough to show you my back?”

     At my words, Bae Jaemin’s brows furrowed slightly.
However, surprisingly, he didn’t bother to argue further and took the lead smoothly.
Perhaps he just didn’t want to speak to me anymore, but… In any case, I was able to release a relieved sigh now that I’d escaped from Bae Jaemin’s intimidating view.

     Bae Jaemin walked out before me, closed the open skill book and vanished it, plunged the tip of his staff into the ground, and activated a simple skill.
“[Search].”

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     Then, the hitherto unseen enemies gained a glowing red border, clearly showcasing their positions in the forest and pond.
That skill probably temporarily revealed hidden enemies.

     In the blink of an eye, I memorized the locations of the hidden enemies and threw daggers at them.
“[Dark Counter]….Hngh!”

     Since this was the first time I used the skill, I almost bit my tongue in surprise when my body moved automatically.
However, thankfully, the skill activated properly; my body slid forward, cleanly decapitating the [De Xin Royal Guard] to my right from the chin up.

     The enemy couldn’t even shout or finish its death throes; he collapsed where he stood.
Then, I leaned back–as far as possible–to avoid a sword that was about to dig itself into my armpit.
Jung Garam’s body moved acrobatically.
Though I was a little stiff around the torso, it wasn’t difficult to chain one movement into another.

     “[Dark Gambit]!” Since the translucent skill window was still displayed before me, I could see the list of skills currently available.
I was only reciting these abilities in order.
Fortunately, though, it seemed like I chose well.
My body moved oddly automatically, effortlessly approaching the next enemy.

     Drawing closer, that bodyguard had what appeared to be fish scales tattooed on his face.
Contrary to his terrifying appearance, though, the guard couldn’t follow my movements and opened his mouth slightly in a memorably dumbfounded way.

     It felt as if I alone could move freely within this paused world.
I could clearly see how slow my opponent was; the guard could do nothing as my reflection could be clearly seen within his pupils.

     As soon as I thought this fight might become boring, the royal guard blinked and closed his eyes.
Simultaneously, my–now blue–dagger inserted itself between the guard’s lips, and I ripped it horizontally.

[Cough….
C-Cough…!]

     The [Dark Gambit] skill added an additional poison effect to the dagger.
The guard with the torn lips soon began to have swollen cheeks, rolling on the floor while spitting up black blood.

     Somehow, despite the brutal sight, my heart was beating calmly and consistently.
I inwardly counted the seconds until the royal guard stopped moving and I could see the whites of his eyes before running towards the next enemy.

     Because I turned around so rapidly, the next target briefly stopped, as if it were scared by my movements, before rushing towards me again.
However, to my eyes, it seemed as if he were floundering in water.
That was how slow he appeared.

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     ‘How should I put this… It’s strangely amusing…’

     Just like a comedy… It felt like I was watching a clown’s over-exaggerated, ludicrous movements.

     However, I only had a short time to appreciate this; I jumped off the ground, spring-loading enough strength into my thigh muscles that it felt like I’d explode.
Using the enemy’s spine as a stepping stone, I landed on his shoulders.

     The enemy faltered under my weight, and he turned his head to look up at me.
His small eyes revealed his inner thoughts–‘Just when did he get up there?’.
Instead of answering such a silly, unvoiced question, I smiled at the enemy, who was darkened by the shade of my shadow.

Clunk–!

     That was probably the last thing the enemy saw.
His head burst; the guard faltered and collapsed.

     Stepping on the falling enemy’s back, I jumped lightly and turned around.
There were still many nearby monsters; the closest was right behind me.
He was the owner of the lingering gaze that had been annoying me since long earlier.

     Perhaps he was cautious; perhaps he was scared.
That gaze kept following me at a barely tolerable distance, but its owner did not come any closer.

     “Gasp!”

     Was that why I heard a small gasp when I pinpointed the enemy directly with a glare? It sounded like he was pierced with fright.

     As I slowly stared at the guard, I sensed something odd about him.
I couldn’t quite pinpoint what that was, but the man’s general movement and behavior were a little different from a normal bodyguard.

“”

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     “What’s this?” Bae Jaemin, who walked ahead, mumbled to himself; the guard flinched and took a step back.
Realizing that he was about to run away, I took a large step towards him.
Then, in one movement, I grabbed him by the neck.

     “A-Arghh! W-Wait!” he screamed.

     I was about to grab my dagger and drive it under his chin.
The guard threw his heavy sword onto the ground and trembled as he grabbed my wrist.

     The man felt slippery to the touch with sweat; his face naturally frowned–a cringe.
However, I swiftly stopped moving because of what he said.
I’d never seen a monster trying to talk to a User before.

     A monster could only spit out guttural, strange words; they couldn’t speak human language.
The meaning of their words was directly conveyed into the brain, passed through some translator.
Monster language was utterly different and couldn’t originate from a human’s voice box, so humans couldn’t pronounce monster words or imitate them.
The same was true for monsters.
However, the royal guard used human language to beg for his life.

     Bae Jaemin, who quickly approached us from behind, muttered indifferently, “I think it’s a human?”

     “T-That’s right.
I’m not a monster!”

     He was definitely wearing clothes worn by [De Xin’s Royal Guard], but the man hastily nodded, agreeing that he was human.

     The man started to peel off thin skin–when the peels of skin had reached his neck, rather than [De Xin’s Royal Guard], a normal human man had appeared.
Of course, he wasn’t someone I recognized.

     “I was only wearing an item I had created.
I’m not a monster…”

     “Then, why observe us after wearing this disguise?”

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     The man broke out into a cold sweat at Bae Jaemin’s question, but he soon raised both hands in a surrender gesture.
“I wasn’t keeping an eye on you… That is to say, I’m a Corpse Modiste… I can use a monster’s corpse to temporarily transform into that monster.
I was moving within the mass of enemies in order to procure ingredients; I was just going to leave the dungeon as soon as I found what I needed.”

     The man asked for our mercy and placed his hands in his inventory.
Then, he took out pieces of skin taken from famous monsters.
“I can even transform into a Lizard or an Ogre…”

     I looked at Bae Jaemin, wondering what we should do; he strangely only stared back.
It was as if he’d follow my decision.

     ‘It doesn’t seem like he’s lying…’

    However, I was still stuck on the fact that Bang Eunji and Choi Kyung-sik were being chased by assassins after entering the dungeon.
Could I trust the man and let him go?

     ‘What…? Is he acting cute?’

     At that moment, Bae Jaemin kept blinking his eyes at me.

     Unable to understand his motives, I stared at him; Bae Jaemin sighed quietly and lowered his eyes again.
The self-proclaimed Corpse Modiste, who was watching this sight with bated breaths, spoke hesitantly, “E-Excuse me… I think he wants you to check your messages…”

     “Huh?”

     “Haah…” Bae Jaemin frowned–it seemed like he was saying ‘You and I really don’t match,’ within his mind.
Only then did I see and read the notification, [A new message has arrived!].

     Awkwardly, I pressed the window; Bae Jaemin’s message unfurled before my eyes.

 

[Bae Jaemin: Torture him for information]