The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“I’ll send someone to meet you. Ah, Anelis is… “

“Just leave it to me.”

In any case, the curse of silence had already been cast. I couldn’t even open my mouth.

When I revealed the fact, Seviso’s expression changed slightly, showing surprise.

“The curse of silence… if it’s a permanent curse… “

“I’ve reached Class 5.”

Seviso’s pupils shook rapidly.

“…I’ll make sure to convey it to the top.”

Seviso was quick-witted.

The treatment of Class 4 and Class 5 was different. Especially for mages, it was even more so.

‘Even if I’m a black mage, or rather, because I’m a black mage, it’s different.’

The guild master’s body must have been completely exhausted.

After exchanging brief greetings with Seviso, we returned to the Sleeping Bear Inn.

We took a proper shower and got some short rest.

Today, at least, Kaila didn’t bother me.

After the day changed and we had breakfast, I gathered the party.

On the table, there were ordinary-looking armor and a sword.

“This is the armor that Minotaur used to wear, right…?”

Athena looked at the armor with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

“It’s grown this big… “

“It’s an artifact.”

“Is it sealed?”

The method to unseal it wasn’t that difficult.

“I was thinking of giving these two to Kaila.”

“…Both… did you say?”

Kaila spoke with a tone of surprise.

“You’ve accumulated the most points, so the next relic we’ll go to is a place with a shield. If it’s still there, I won’t give it to you.”

I was able to legally persuade the party, and I had to make the most of it.

Honestly, I felt grateful towards the person who wrote the journal.

But the bones of that person, who was assumed to be grateful, were carried with me.

In their lifetime, they must have been an incredible person, as their bones, unlike those of the Guardians or Minotaur, still retained their sacred power and maintained a dignified appearance.

“It’s all… a bit burdensome, but… “

“I got the Robe of Motherhood and the Chalice of Abundance, and Athena has the Dragon’s Tooth, so…”

Athena didn’t even use armor and a sword of this size.

“Plus, you’re the strongest, so it’s most helpful for the party if you use it.”

Although I had reached Class 5, as a necromancer, I needed a bit more time to acquire the power worthy of Class 5.

It won’t take that long.

At the moment of hesitation, Valduer added persuasion.

“Just accept it.”

Valduer opened his mouth.

“If you’re worried about me, it’s okay. Honestly, it’s the right thing to do, and in terms of contribution, it’s incomparable. Moreover, you’ve ruined both your shield and armor this time…”

Eventually, Kyra nodded in response to Valduer’s words, which could be considered as those of a disciple.

“Don’t worry about Valduer. I’ll take care of him later. This time, there are many relics recorded in the journal, anyway.”

It wasn’t difficult to take care of Valduer, anyway.

‘After all, Valduer is a talented person, unlike Kyra or Atina.’

“And what I need to do for Valduer first is not an artifact.”

Atina and Kyra showed puzzled expressions at my words.

“Let’s erase the slave brand first.”

“Right. I forgot.”

Valduer also showed a slightly surprised expression.

After all, he wasn’t actually treated as a slave, even if he was nominally one.

Honestly, the possibility of Valduer becoming a master was low. Objectively, he was talented, but becoming a master wasn’t that easy.

‘What I erase is not dangerous.’

It would be better to officially erase the slave brand through the magic tower.

‘It might cost several times more money than before…’

It could cost tens, or even nearly 100 gold coins.

However, it was acceptable.

‘It’s just that much money.’

I didn’t have that much money right now. But there were many ways to earn it.

If I sold the relics I had obtained, or sold unnecessary items, I could earn money. I could also utilize my future knowledge to earn money.

‘The Tynaire jewelry case, the southern famine, the epidemic in the swamp area…’

If I used them well, there were plenty of ways to earn money. That was one of the reasons I didn’t worry about money.

Moreover, as a mercenary of our level…

‘There are many ways to earn money.’

As a black magician, I had even more opportunities. Although it might involve some dirty work, I could earn money with the tacit approval of the mercenary guild or the Dorim Empire.

Of course, I didn’t need to go that far.

“Then, let’s decide to give it to Kyra… and try to unseal it. Kyra.”

“First, dip both arms in your blood.”

“…You mean blood?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, it’s not some kind of dark magic. Think of it as a temporary contract.”

It was a type of temporary ownership that could be severed at any time if the owner died or wanted to.

The sword and armor were dyed in Kyra’s blood.

“After that, if you inject mana, the seal will probably push your mana away. Ignore it and force it to break. Then, it will react with your blood. After that, just flow with the mana.”

“…Is that the answer?”

“Yes. I said it was simple. But it won’t be that easy, right? Let’s try the sword first.”

At the top of the tower, I couldn’t find a way, so I had to resort to this method. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the correct answer.

“To be honest, it’s not a seal, but a kind of test.”

Those who are unqualified can never wield true power, and it’s only natural. If it weren’t for Kayla, I wouldn’t be able to use it. It’s not just any legendary ancient relic.

If Valdur hadn’t stepped in, I would have told her everything up to this point.

Kayla seemed to be focused on my words for a while, then started sweating profusely.

Her body was emitting a faint aura, as if she was pouring out an unimaginable amount of mana.

As time passed…

It was as if the shell had cracked, and the sword’s residual energy began to dissipate, eventually shattering into light.

Artina looked surprised, but it wasn’t a mistake.

Kayla let out a sigh and put down the sword.

“…It’s truly amazing. This is… honestly, it’s close to being a demonic sword.”

“What’s going on? A demonic sword?”

“Well, it’s possible to interpret it that way.”

“It has the function of healing the user’s wounds by drinking the blood of living beings. You can also store a certain amount of it.”

Artina looked astonished at Kayla’s explanation.

“At least it doesn’t affect the mind…”

If it were true, it would have become a real demonic sword.

If it weren’t for being sold to a powerful noble family later, it might have been treated as a real demonic sword.

By the way, it has many other functions. It can use the life force extracted from blood to self-repair, and it’s convenient to the point where you only need to cut down living beings periodically to maintain it.

“It’s like a real demonic sword, isn’t it?”

It’s a renowned sword that can receive the user’s mana well and doesn’t get damaged by ordinary attacks.

After successfully activating the armor as well, Kayla let out a sigh of relief.

“This is better, at least. It’s using the user’s mana, after all….The effect is… honestly, I prefer this.”

“What’s this about?”

“It enhances vitality using mana. You can also adjust the size, and it has resistance to poison, contamination, and curses.”

It’s not just any legendary ancient relic.

“If it gets damaged, it’ll repair itself over time…”

If you put in mana, it’ll recover faster. You could say it’s a more convenient armor than a regenerative sword.

“…Can I really have something like this?”

“Honestly, I expected it to have such functions. It’s an ancient relic, a legendary one at that.”

“That’s true, but…”

She had once been a knight. If an ancient relic, a legendary artifact, didn’t have such functions, it would be strange.

“Honestly, both are the romance of warriors.”

It’s close to being a demonic sword, but it can recover wounds without a priest’s help and has an armor that can prevent fatigue as long as you have enough mana.

It’s not about complicated magic, but functions that maximize a warrior’s abilities. From a warrior’s perspective, it’s an artifact worth giving up a fortune for.

That’s why Kayla couldn’t hide her joyful expression, even though she was embarrassed.

“I probably couldn’t even dream of having such an artifact back in my knight days.”

She must be extremely happy deep down.

“Artina, Valdur. Let’s have a spar.”

“…Please go easy on me, sir.”

No, I was simply being upfront about my enthusiasm. It seemed like they wanted to experiment with the new equipment right away.

“There’s a promise in the evening, so don’t overdo it.”

I shook my head and gave a brief warning, and the three of them soon went out in a hurry.

They might not return until late, considering the distance.

The three of them returned just as the guild leader was about to send someone.

Not long after they returned, the guild leader sent a messenger who found us at the inn, and we followed him to the mercenary guild.

“It seems like they knew what was going on outside.”

The reason was clear soon enough.

“Was it because of Anelis?”

It seemed like they wanted to settle the Anelis-related matter once and for all this time.

She was tied up and accompanied by the guild leader of the mercenary guild.

“I guess they called Tildi to confirm as well.”

Looking at her tied up, it seemed like the verdict was in our favor.

After all, with a clear culprit and victim, there was no way things could go wrong.

“You’re here. I apologize for the late invitation.”

As we entered, the guild leader of the Doriem mercenary guild, Colmail, got up to greet us personally.

Transaction

“Nice to meet you. I’m Colmail, the guild leader of the Doriem branch.”

Although he was the guild leader of the mercenary guild, Colmail looked more like an administrator than a mercenary.

He had neatly combed hair and was dressed in formal attire, giving off an air of someone who didn’t know the first thing about the battlefield.

Of course, that was just his appearance.

As the guild leader, he must have been a mercenary at some point. The mercenary guild wasn’t a place where just anyone could become the leader.

Especially in a large branch like Doriem, the guild leader was often a high-ranking mercenary.

Since it was an influential branch, the competition was fierce, and only someone who had overcome that competition could become the leader.

There were exceptions, but the Colmail in front of me didn’t seem to be one of them.

“He still looks like he hasn’t stopped training.”

His posture alone showed that he wasn’t someone who didn’t know how to fight.

“There have been too many things going on, so the invitation was late. I hope you’re not upset.”

As he extended his hand, I shook it with a neutral expression.

“I’m Do-inha. It’s fine. A guild leader of this scale can’t be idle, so I don’t mind.”

It was a bit unexpected.

“I thought he would be more cautious, considering I’m a dark mage who knows how to use curses.”

Normally, people would avoid physical contact with a dark mage, or even avoid interacting with them altogether. But he seemed to know nothing and extended his hand for a handshake.

It could be seen as a sign of goodwill.

At the same time, it meant that the guild leader valued me and my party highly, enough to show goodwill first.

I lightly shook his hand and slowly let go. Of course, there was no childish struggle for power.

He also exchanged brief greetings with my companions and invited us to sit down.

“First of all, I want to express my gratitude for choosing our guild.”

We chatted briefly about how our mercenary life was going, if we had any difficulties with our activities, and if anyone in the guild had made any mistakes.

The employees of the local branch didn’t harbor any ill feelings, so our conversation flowed smoothly.

Although an unpleasant incident had occurred at the Sleeping Bear Inn while the mercenary badge was being issued, the inn owner had handled it well, and neither Sevina nor Brenail had made any mistakes, so it was a normal situation.

“You must be aware of this incident, too.”