The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“What would happen if I went somewhere else?”

No matter how I reacted, she persisted in asking questions.

I thought about forcing her to shut up, but that didn’t seem right either.

‘She was entrusted to me for her own safety.’

Complaining about the noise in this situation seemed excessive.

So I chose to ignore her again instead of responding.

“There’s no place for you in the noble family. If you go back, you’ll either be sent away again or… or you’ll be treated like a slave, no matter how well you do.”

‘Then, will you go to one of the kingdoms in the 6 Kingdoms Alliance?’

The Dark Elf’s situation had become even more unfavorable compared to the past.

So, even bringing her back into the interspecies alliance would be quite a hassle….

‘It seems like one of her parents was a high-ranking official in the noble family, considering how much attention they’re giving to a half-breed like her.’

Yet, they treated her like a slave because of her mixed heritage, making me realize once again how the interspecies alliance viewed humans.

“I think it’s difficult to adapt to another kingdom, and it’s hard to find good colleagues…”

Not having good colleagues meant not having safety guaranteed.

I knew that well, but I didn’t know why I asked.

No, I roughly knew.

“…Can I stay in this party without causing any trouble?”

“No.”

“Don’t think unnecessary thoughts. Just wait quietly until someone comes to take you away.”

I don’t know why I said that now.

However, neither I nor my companions wanted to welcome her.

My firm attitude made Anelis stop speaking.

However, I didn’t show any signs of giving up.

“Are you being too gentlemanly towards me?”

I thought it was enough to just ignore him.

In reality, I was already living a suppressed life, constantly being cautious and on edge.

But suddenly, I wanted to escape.

I couldn’t understand the reason why.

As I was searching for a way to escape,

Specter found me.

“…Found you.”

It seemed like Caile had discovered something.

I immediately sent a signal to Kileo, and he responded to my command, moving towards me.

Artina and Valduer would likely follow suit, searching for me.

“Guide me.”

I immediately ordered Specter to return to Caile, and Specter faithfully carried out my instructions.

Before long, I was able to reunite with Caile.

“Did you find it?”

“Yes, it’s over here.”

The place Caile pointed to was surprisingly under a fallen tree.

“There were signs of people entering and exiting. When I went in, I found a site that seemed to be a relic.”

As we went deeper, we found a space made of stone, not earth, and a massive statue stood there.

“Was there no guardian?”

“The statues seemed suspicious….And it seemed like there were many gargoyle-like creatures.”

Gargoyle.

Normally, they take the form of monstrous statues, standing guard, and when an intruder appears, they shed their disguise and slaughter the intruder.

The first gargoyle was said to have been born from a sculptor’s work, imbued with a spirit, but I didn’t know if that was true.

“Did it seem strong?”

“No, honestly, it didn’t seem that strong. I heard that gargoyles themselves are tricky, but I didn’t think I couldn’t handle it. However, since the statues seemed suspicious, I didn’t investigate further.”

I nodded in agreement with her words, saying it was the right decision.

We didn’t have to take unnecessary risks, especially since we didn’t have any teammates.

And when her report was finished, Artina and Valduer, led by Kileo, arrived.

“Inha-ya! Master!”

Artina, who was running towards us, calling out to us.

She quickly approached us and began to scan our surroundings hastily.

I asked her, seemingly puzzled, “Did you meet someone or something?”

I stiffened at her words.

She wouldn’t say something like that for no reason. It was likely that she had discovered someone or at least found traces of someone else.

‘Are we being followed? Could it be from the Iclamba side…?’

“Could someone be tracking us?”

“I don’t know, but I did find signs of someone else.”

Artina continued speaking.

“It’s not just one or two, I think.”

Kaila and I exchanged serious glances.

“What are we going to do?”

Kaila asked me.

“Where was the trail discovered?”

“A little ways from where we first parted ways.”

“Is it from the Justus side?”

It seemed likely, given the location.

Although it’s a bit far from here…

“Did they also get the information?”

The problem was that we didn’t hide the trail at all.

There was no reason to, and doing so would have been a waste of time.

It wouldn’t have been efficient.

“We have to find the ruins and get the achievements, we can’t afford to waste time.”

Since the ruins were discovered, there was no need to suspect anything unnecessary.

There was no tracking, and thanks to Justus’s money, things went smoothly, so we let our guard down a bit.

“…Let’s clear the ruins first.”

There were already traces everywhere. We didn’t know who they were, but we couldn’t waste time here.

“The scale of the ruins itself isn’t that big, so if we take a little risk and do our best, it won’t take long to clean up.”

Kaila said, who had personally entered the ruins.

I also agreed with her.

It wasn’t like we were excavating a completely buried ruin, and the entrance and interior were in relatively good condition.

To put it bluntly, it was on the same level as the temple we found in the previous cave.

“There probably won’t be guardians of that level, so cleaning up the ruins quickly won’t be difficult.”

The problem was…

“If we quickly clean up and leave, they’ll find our trail. I did reduce my trail, but…”

“My and Kaila’s trail is still there.”

So, we didn’t know when they would find our trail and rush in here.

“That’s why we have to attack the ruins as quickly as possible. We can’t fight them while clearing the ruins.”

We were short on manpower.

“We could be surrounded from the front and back. Or they might be waiting at the entrance, trying to steal our achievements.”

“Being surrounded from the front and back would be a bit difficult, but waiting at the entrance isn’t that scary.”

Depending on how strong the guardians inside the ruins were, the enemies behind us could feel quite threatening.

However, if they were waiting at the entrance…

“As long as the knights don’t come directly, we won’t be pushed back by force.”

Our combat power was not ordinary.

So, blocking the entrance wasn’t something we were afraid of.

“Of course, if they thoroughly prepare to fight us, it might be a bit difficult…”

But if we were determined to escape, the story would be different.

“And, even if they’re openly targeting us, this, I’ll throw it away?”

It’s too wasteful to do so.

“…But our lives come first.”

“That’s right. But isn’t this level of danger worth taking the risk for one relic?”

They don’t know what’s inside.

But they knew that undiscovered relics have a high probability of being treasures.

“It’s a dungeon where ancient tomes from the Blue Tower or the Royal Magic Tower are said to have been excavated.”

At the very least, it’s not a complete waste, and that’s something they can infer.

“…Alright. Since we’ve never suffered a loss following your opinion, I’ll trust you…”

Artina said, wondering if it was unnecessary worry.

But I shook my head in response.

“You can think that way, and it’s not unnecessary worry. There’s a reason.”

I genuinely think so.

In any case, I want them to follow my opinion.

As a returnee, I have sufficient experience and knowledge.

However, that doesn’t mean I can manipulate my party members like puppets.

“When you have something to say, don’t hesitate and say it.”

“Then, are we going in?”

At Valdur’s words, I nodded in agreement.

“I’ll put Kerleo and the Living Armors at the forefront. Kayla.”

“Can the main golem operate inside?”

Kayla nodded at my question.

“The statue is large, so the height is considerable. While it can’t be overly active, I think it can operate to some extent.”

I expressed my gratitude to Kayla and turned to my party.

“As I said, this is a place where I can almost exert my full power.”

Even if the main golem can’t rampage freely, if it can perform its role of protecting the rear, that’s enough.

“Don’t worry. If we decide to do it, we’ll do our best.”

Artina said, as if telling me not to worry.

“I wasn’t worried about that, though.”

To that extent, my party members didn’t lack a sense of responsibility or camaraderie.

Of course, Anelis was an exception.

After nodding, we followed Kayla into the relic, one by one.

As we descended through the gap at the base of the tree, the space gradually expanded, and once we reached a certain point, the earth gave way to a stone-walled space.

And at the end…

“It’s vast.”

Although the surroundings were dark, using the luminescent stones we had obtained in the previous cave, it wasn’t a big problem to observe our surroundings.

The numerous statues visible in all directions.

It was a space where not a single presence could be felt, but my senses were screaming warnings.

“Indeed, most of them are probably golems.”

An ordinary person, or even someone who has awakened to their mana, might not notice if their senses are dull or low-level.

However, I could sense it.

Most of the statues were golems. Kayla’s words were right. There…

“That… feels weird…”

Artina also seemed to have noticed.

Her gaze was fixed on the two enormous statues standing guard on both sides of the ruins.

“It’s creepy.”

“Kayla, are you saying those two statues are the ones you mentioned?”

I was also sensing it.

Those things were not ordinary statues either. Maybe…

“Are they Guardians?”

I needed to check.

“Should we attack them first?”

But I soon shook my head.

If they were Guardians, similar to golems, it would be a bad idea to attack them hastily.

“Golems are stronger when they’re petrified, after all.”

Although the atmosphere felt creepy, the energy itself wasn’t that strong, so I decided to prioritize other things.

We didn’t have much information to begin with, and attacking blindly would be foolish.

“Let’s start with what’s certain.”

I summoned all the undead.

The massive body of the original golem filled the entrance.

Then, the golems seemed to notice us and slowly began to break free from their petrification.

“Battle stance.”

Unfortunately, we lacked resources, making it difficult to set up a temporary base.

“The Necromancer said this was a bit inconvenient.”

While strong on the battlefield, we were unprepared for this environment, which would inevitably lead to many shortcomings.

We could make up for it by bringing a large number of undead with us beforehand, but it was too late now.