The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“It’s confirmed.”

“What’s that?”

“A material for an artifact.”

This was information that would be revealed in the future, but since it was a unique material, I didn’t think it would be a big problem even if I revealed it now.

‘I had already hinted that I knew about the ruins, anyway.’

There was no reason to hide it anymore, so I simply revealed the truth.

“A material for an artifact?”

It wasn’t something we needed immediately.

I didn’t plan on using it for the artifact I would request when I became a junior member of the Mage Tower.

‘Even if I’m a junior member of the Mage Tower, showing this off would attract unwanted attention from humans.’

I still lacked the power to protect myself.

The reason I picked it up was similar to the psychological urge to pick up gold coins scattered on the ground – I couldn’t just leave it behind.

‘It’s better to be the first to take it, and there’s no reason not to.’

It was a material that could be used later.

Additionally, I could use the profit from the books I obtained to build a better relationship with the royal family….

‘And I’ll have to come back here again in a year, so it’s good to know the layout beforehand and have an excuse to revisit….’

That’s when I started to think about these things.

Far away, a massive explosion occurred, scattering debris all over the floor.

“Unbelievable….”

“It seems like the pursuers have discovered this place.”

What a flashy entrance.

But with an explosion like this…

“It seems like they’re going to recklessly attack the statue.”

Kwaang! Kwaang!

It looked like they were destroying everything in sight.

I had thought of a similarly foolish method.

“…What are you going to do?”

“How’s everyone’s stamina?”

“It’s fine.”

“Both stamina and mana are sufficient. I expected we’d fight here, so I conserved my energy.”

“I’m fine too.”

We had also recovered mid-battle, and it seemed like we had distributed our resources well from the start, anticipating a fight here.

‘I’m aware of the risk of getting ambushed from behind.’

Thanks to that, it didn’t seem like we needed to stall for time.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

The continuous explosions made Artina furrow her brow.

“They brought a wizard too. And they’re wasting mana like that… Are they crazy?”

A wizard’s mana wasn’t a resource that could be used recklessly.

As for me, my body’s constitution and talent allowed me to recover mana quickly, but ordinary wizards couldn’t recover mana in a short period like I could.

Because of that, they always had to manage it carefully, but it seemed like they didn’t care about that at all.

“I don’t think they’re underestimating us. Either the statue feels threatening to them, or they want to meet us as quickly as possible.”

Unlike Artina, Kyle calmly analyzed their psychology.

After all, we couldn’t be underestimated with the corpse of a giant golem still lying around.

Even if they didn’t know our true identities, we were a group capable of handling dozens of golems with ease.

It was unthinkable to look down on us.

But…

‘If they realized that the giant statue was untouched and only the golem’s corpse remained, they might have thought it wasn’t a threat…’

I couldn’t understand why they were doing this.

‘Are they trying to intimidate us?’

If so, they had failed.

I wasn’t the type to get anxious over something like this.

I considered taking the shortcut, but thinking about the original golem, I decided it was better to defend this place.

The loud noise was getting closer.

‘If the wizard’s level is low, their mana should be almost depleted by now.’

Even if there were many of them searching, there couldn’t be that many wizards.

The fact that they had come all the way here, making a racket, was already beneficial to us.

So I waited for a bit, and finally, I could see the faces of the guys who had followed us into the ruins.

“…You guys.”

“Ha, haha. Finally, finally found you!”

A familiar face.

“…Well, I didn’t think you’d follow me….”

Griang’s words were correct.

Moses Guild and Persos Mercenary Group. Those guys were the ones. Moreover….

“Jutters is… not in a hostile relationship with Doriem, right?”

“There’s no such thing as that in front of money.”

“If Erwin finds out, he’ll be furious.”

The guy was trying to keep Jutters’ mercenaries out of the territory, treating them like enemies.

But in reality, Jutters’ mercenaries were working with Doriem’s side and were trying to attack me.

“It’s all the same, whether it’s this or that branch. If necessary, we’ll even join hands.”

“Am I not also a member of the mercenary guild?”

“Sorry, but black mages are not considered mercenaries.”

The Jutters’ mercenary sneered, raising one corner of his mouth.

However, their mockery didn’t end there.

“That’s the same for us.”

“Is this your first time having a direct conversation like this?”

A man stepped forward, speaking.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Persos, the leader of the Persos Mercenary Group.”

It wasn’t a particularly unusual name, as most mercenary groups were named after their leader.

“So, what’s the purpose?”

“Simple. Everything you’ve obtained here and your life.”

He didn’t seem to be hiding his intentions at all.

At his words, Kaila, Atina, and Valdur’s expressions turned stern.

“If you accept death quietly, I’ll make it painless.”

“I can’t understand why you’re doing this.”

“A black mage like you, who has received the guild’s guarantee and is active in Doriem, is unacceptable.”

“So you joined hands with Jutters? Isn’t that a pretty weak reason?”

“It’s enough.”

“I suppose if this gets out, it won’t be me who gets criticized, but the Persos Mercenary Group and Moses Guild will receive even more backlash. No, if it ends with just criticism, I’ll be lucky.”

My words caused one of the mercenaries in the back to tremble.

He seemed to be from the Moses Guild.

After all, if it’s revealed that they tried to ban me from entering the territory and collaborated with a bad branch that the guild guarantees….

‘A warrant for my arrest will be issued, and a pursuit team will be formed.’

“…Your information gathering skills are decent. I didn’t think you’d recognize my face.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you from the start, so you should know.”

“Ah. You’re taking revenge by investigating me in secret? Planning to take revenge later? You’re so petty and selfish, it’s nauseating. You’re just angry because you got scolded a little….”

“I suppose I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s been stalking me all the way from Doriem.”

It’s unlikely that he directly followed me here.

It seemed like they would have noticed earlier if that was the case.

“It doesn’t seem like we hastily formed an alliance with Jutes.”

Whether they were the Parsus Mercenary Group or the Moses Trading Company, it seemed like they had a connection with us from a long time ago.

I seemed to have obtained information about my position from them.

“At least, this alliance wasn’t hastily formed, right?”

“I knew you’d come here.”

“There was a 50% chance. If I had the information, I would have tried it too. But you guys found this place right away… Did you already know there was a relic here?”

“There’s no need to answer.”

“Hmm, if you’re not cooperative, it won’t be good for you. Can’t you see the troops behind me?”

They’re visible.

A fully armed mercenary. At least mid-tier, and there were many others who had awakened their mana, giving off a different vibe.

There were two mages and two priests, and a paladin was also present to protect the priest.

Naturally, their average ability was overwhelmingly superior.

However.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re going to be a problem.”

The priest, in particular, was overly confident, always maintaining a condescending attitude.

“We destroyed that statue you were afraid of and ran away from.”

What nonsense. I wasn’t afraid of it at all.

I didn’t think they would waste a mage’s mana for such a trivial reason.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

“Ah, I see. You guys were all absorbed into the Goddess’s Church, weren’t you?”

If not, then we had at least a mid-level connection through the Goddess’s Church, which was highly likely.

So, I casually probed them, and Persos couldn’t hide his flustered expression at my sudden words.

He didn’t answer, but in reality, he had already answered.

“That’s right. If it’s the Goddess’s Church, that’s understandable.”

It seemed like they wanted to eliminate me before I grew too strong.

“It’s not like you’re standing out or anything.”

After all, I was growing at an unprecedented rate.

Since my future potential looked high, they seemed to be thinking of eliminating me early, but…

“This much is nothing.”

“…We can’t let you live.”

“Will you try to absorb the others as well?”

“Done. The Archbishop also doesn’t like the old colleague of the Black Mage, so…”

It seemed like they didn’t even think of hiding it.

“Just, take care of it.”

“It seems like you’re just talking big, but…”

At that moment, Atina intervened and said,

“You know you’ll die at my hands. You insolent brat.”

“Is that so?”

Atina ignored Persos and asked me, and I smiled faintly as I replied.

“It’s fine as it is.”

My response made Persos’ face distort, while a bright smile spread across Artina’s face.

“…Kill them all!”

Persos’ shout prompted the enemies to move.

The first to act were the mercenaries from the Juterus side.

Their equipment and attack movements suggested they were all experienced mid-tier mercenaries.

My golem, which had been buffed in advance, threw a punch at them first.

[[PROTECTION]]

The white light of the defense barrier blocked my golem’s attack.

“It’s a high-level spell…”

These weren’t ordinary priests.

While their individual abilities might not be top-notch, they could combine their powers to achieve something greater.

“Priests can merge their strength more easily than mages.”

By chanting the same spell together, they could divide the burden and complete a spell that would be impossible for one person to cast.

Of course, it wasn’t all good.

Since they were doing something that would normally be impossible, their power was greatly reduced, and the divine power they consumed increased exponentially.

So….

The protection barrier was shattered in an instant.

Even with my golem’s strong power and my buffs, it was impossible to deal such a massive blow to the protection barrier with just one hit.