The Necromancer Who Was Despised

I have already overcome a crisis.

Even if she doesn’t become a master, she just has to protect me until I become a high-ranking wizard.

In the first place, that was all I wanted from my current party members.

Gulp.

Artena opened the vial with a nervous look.

Even though the vial was opened, there was no change.

But Artena looks a little different.

She lets out a tense sigh.

“Is it okay to just eat it?”

I answered her question with a short node.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment as she looked at the elixir, but soon put it in her mouth.

But soon, her expression turned into one of surprise.

‘It must have melted all at once.’

I knew it roughly because I was the one who made it.

However, her surprised expression soon turned into awe, and she soon sat down on the floor and began to practice mana breathing.

Suddenly, I felt sorry.

‘I wish I had a better breathing method.’

Of course, it wasn’t like Kayla’s level was plummeting.

Still, he was a knight from a fairly well-off aristocratic family, and even though he was a commoner, he would have died young without even being able to use the lousy mana breathing technique since he had to work in the dark world.

However, what I regretted is that there was a way to obtain a mana breathing technique that was better than that.

‘It’s difficult now, so I have to give up.’

Athena sat in place, her brows furrowed as she breathed slowly.

A strong mana scent was felt around her.

I glanced at Kayla and saw that she wasn’t showing any particular agitation, so she must be doing well.

Like that, 10 minutes, 20 minutes passed, but there was no change in Athena’s body, and as an hour slowly passed, a feeling of regret began to creep in.

‘Is it possible to reconnect with the body?’

It was a bit disappointing, but it couldn’t be helped. In fact, it was my greed that made me leave now.

Of course, it was Naini who gave her the elixir, so it wasn’t really my fault.

However, unlike me, who had half given up, Kayla was still intently watching Athena.

Suddenly.

I hurriedly looked at Athena at the sudden sound.

Thud.

It seemed that my guess was a little premature.

Not as radical as when Kayla did it, but Athena’s body began to shake all over and black liquid began to flow out of her entire body.

‘…I can’t get used to this smell.’

It’s quite disgusting.

It was comparable to the pungent smell that came when I first created Skeleton No. 1, so there was no need to say more.

After the body reconstruction began, the thick mana scent no longer flowed out of her body.

Athena’s body reconstruction was not as radical as Kayla’s, but it took a long time, and only after several hours did her shaking body finally stop.

However, even then, Athena was still concentrating.

‘Isn’t it over yet?’

At that moment, a strong flow of mana was felt from Athena’s body.

The thought that something was wrong crossed my mind.

However, the body reconstruction had also ended well.

It was strange for something to go wrong now.

Kayla also had a strange expression on her face, and soon her expression turned to shock.

She seemed to have noticed something, but I couldn’t speak even though I was curious.

Athena was concentrating hard.

Judging from the fact that she didn’t stop, it seemed that nothing was wrong.

‘Rather, looking at her expression… it seems like she’s done something great…’

The only thing I could guess was the mana heart.

Suddenly, I realized that Athena was still concentrating.

‘…Could it be that she intentionally created a mana heart while reconstructing her body?’

That would be quite shocking.

It’s not like an abnormal situation where, like me, she regressed and her physical abilities are far lower than her body, and if she were to generate a mana heart just by throwing one elixir with only her own talent and senses…

Even I would be terrified.

‘It’s turning.’

If that were true, it would be enough to understand why Kyla praised Athena as a genius.

‘Is Kyla seeing Athena as similar to me?’

If my body is a miraculous body that can do the impossible for a human, Athena is literally someone with a talent sent from heaven.

‘I need to handle this correctly.’

If my guess is correct, the Master is not Athena’s problem.

She has the potential to become an existence that surpasses that, a being that only exists in legends or myths.

After giving her the elixir, a full day passed before Athena opened her eyes.

“…Did I make a Mana Heart?”

“Yes, Master. I finally made it. I was a little worried because my body was changing but I couldn’t see any signs of it appearing.”

She said that it was all thanks to the Master. She said that she was able to create it thanks to the various explanations she had been given in the meantime.

“Did you know about the elixir from the beginning? That’s why you explained it to me in such detail. I thought it was a little strange that you were telling me about something that I could only have when I became a Master.”

“And you kept asking me about it so persistently?”

“Because I was curious and it was fun. I thought I definitely wanted to have it in the future, so I used it as motivation. But I didn’t know it would be this helpful. Hehe.”

It seemed that Kyla had already laid the groundwork.

“Ahem. Inha, I’m really grateful to you too. I’m always indebted to you… I feel like I’m always increasing a debt that’s hard to repay.”

Athena said that she would try her best to do as much as she had been given.

“Okay, let’s wash up first.”

“You really stink right now.”

At my words, Athena looked at her arm in surprise. She looked at her dark skin in wonder and sniffed it.

Sniff, sniff.

“Ew!”

She quickly gagged and examined her body.

“Oh, this was a precious outfit…. Will it go back to normal if I wash it?”

“It won’t.”

Kyla, who had experienced it before, shook her head and said.

“Even some of the shower tools I used when I washed had to be thrown away.”

Athena looked down at her clothes with sad eyes.

I heard a small whimpering sound, but I ignored it.

She went into the bathroom attached to the lab, and I asked Kyla while ventilating the area.

“Did she succeed properly?”

“Yes. We’ll have to check, but it doesn’t matter if the Mana Heart is just created. Even if it’s small, it’ll be fine if we raise it slowly. With that child’s talent, she’ll be able to handle the Mana Heart properly in no time.”

But we don’t have much time to wait for that.

Athena took a long bath, and as soon as she came out, she immediately asked Kyla for a duel.

She said that her body was itchy because she was told to rest for a day, and she wanted to move. Kyla pinched her nose and told her to wash again if her body was itchy, and Athena asked me if she smelled bad with a shocked face.

“Kyla is just telling you to rest. You’ve been through a whole day after taking the elixir.”

“…Is that so?”

Only then did Athena nod at my words and return to her room.

After a day’s rest, she immediately lunged at Kyla, and was soon slammed to the floor of the martial arts hall.

“It seems that you haven’t gotten used to your body in a day. You’ve become too vulnerable. It’s true that you’ve become faster and stronger. Are you already handling the Mana Heart?”

“Oh, um. Yes. Uhh, it’s definitely not easy. It took you a long time too, Master, right?”

“That’s true. Even so, if it’s you, you’ll probably be able to handle it in a month.”

“Ugh. I’ll have to work hard to readjust. Inha, when are you leaving?”

“In a week.”

“… “That fast?”

“I’ve already finished most of the urgent stuff.”

I glanced at Kayla and asked.

“What do you think? Would it be better to take Baldur?”

“Honestly, yes.”

“Is it necessary?”

“If it weren’t for that dragon, it wouldn’t be.”

“Dragon?”

Athena made a curious expression, and since Kayla knew about it anyway, I had no reason to hide it, so I explained the situation to Athena.

Her face turned white in an instant.

Of course, she wasn’t as worldly as Nana or Kayla, but she was surprised in a different way.

“… You’re saying this is made from a dragon’s teeth. If it’s a dragon’s body… How many of these are there… .”

She was talking about the Wind Dragon’s fangs.

“That’s special. The Horn Orcs say that souls reside in them. Something like that doesn’t just come pouring out because there’s a body. Still… Well, depending on the situation, there’s a possibility that something of equal or even greater value could come out.”

It was an indirect way of expressing how much value a dragon’s body held.

“I see… .”

Athena nodded and looked at me.

“Thank you for telling me honestly.”

With that, she immediately refocused on her training.

I created more black bones for a week, and during that time, the underground dungeon gradually regained its stability.

It was a given that we would be leaving for a while, but the alliance with the Horn Orcs was still solid, and they seemed to accept that there wouldn’t be any immediate crisis even if we weren’t there, seeing the strengthened Land of the Dead and the Living Armor that I had attached to Tia.

‘The food supply is stable, and there are no monsters around here that actually threaten us.’

They would only attack if they were attacked, and they never made the first move.

On the contrary, there were cases where useless guys caught the attention of Athena or Kayla and were killed.

When the day came for us to leave, Rithild, the chieftain of the Stone Gale tribe, and everyone in the underground dungeon came out to see us off.

“You have to come back as soon as possible, unni?”

“Don’t worry. You know I’m fast, right?”

“… I saw. You’ve been so focused that you’ve even cut down on conversation.”

“I’m sorry. But I’ll come back just as fast.”

“Please take good care of my unni, Kayla unni, Inha oppa.”

“Don’t worry. I’m her disciple, even if I don’t look like it.”

“Of course. I’ll definitely come back safe and sound.”

“Two years at the latest… “I’ll be counting the days.”

“… 730 days?”

Tia looked at me with a determined face and said.

“… I’ll definitely be back by then.”

“It’s a promise.”

Tia held out her finger to me, and I hooked my own around hers.

It was similar to what we had done back in Korea, the only difference being that we were hooking index fingers instead of pinkies. And we weren’t stamping anything.

It felt a bit like shaking hands with our fingers.

“… We’re not kids anymore… ”

Athina seemed a little embarrassed by her sister’s behavior.

It was true that this was something children would do.

“Since it’s what Inha Oppa said, I’ll trust you.”

“Yes, trust me and wait.”

“I will wait for you too. I won’t count down the 730 days, though.”

Tia’s face turned a little red at Lithild’s teasing.

“I’ll be waiting.”

“If I see your family, I’ll do my best to rescue them…” I only know their names, though.”

“I’m grateful for your words.”

I greeted Mutr too.

“Please come back soon!”

“Please return safely!”

The residents of the underground dungeon also shouted my name and asked me to return quickly, and I waved my hand appropriately, as if to say I understood.

“Let’s go.”

Baldur spoke up, taking the lead.

A week ago, I had suddenly informed him that he would be accompanying me, but Baldur had agreed as if it was nothing.

No, he had even asked me a question.

“Should I bring the ‘whip’?”