The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“So, is it dangerous to go into the forest?”

“Not to that extent. Occasionally, there are high-level monsters like that one, but most of them are goblins, orcs, insects, and other monsters like the ones we saw below.”

“I see.”

“But are you really thinking of capturing monsters? Wouldn’t it be better to avoid it if you’re aiming to become a public black magician?”

“It’s okay if it’s not my main job. There’s a reason for it.”

There’s a reason why black magicians do all sorts of things to improve their image. Of course, very few black magicians do this kind of thing.

‘If they do it wrong, they might be looked down upon.’

I wouldn’t have done it if it were goblins or orcs.

However, the trolls were worth the effort.

“And like I said, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just get rid of it. I don’t need to go through the trouble of keeping it.”

I was just trying to seize any opportunity as soon as possible.

“Then I guess we have no choice but to just go for it.”

“Understood. In that case, let’s just rest for today.”

“But just in case, I’ll ask the village chief about a few things. You’re on your guard, but I’m relatively less so.”

Kayla declared a break to adjust her condition, and Athina said that she would go see the village chief, even though she didn’t like it but thought it was necessary.

In fact, it was originally the norm to visit the client and gather information related to the request, but because of me, they were so wary that they came straight to the inn, so it wasn’t a bad choice to gather additional information.

“Do that. While you’re at it, get a map. Even if it doesn’t have the monster distribution, it would be good to have the terrain information.”

I know a little bit about it, but it’s an old memory and I only know the entrance, so having a map would be helpful.

Originally, maps are treated as strategic materials, but in such a dangerous place, they are secretly made.

‘It’s not that extensive, and it’s a map of the Monster Forest.’

It’s an unavoidable situation, so it’s actually better to turn a blind eye to this extent. Nenson had also secretly made one, and so had I.

Of course, if you make one for your territory and get caught by the lord, you will be punished with confiscation of the map, treated as a spy, torture, and execution.

Baldur didn’t say a word during the meeting, and as soon as the short meeting ended, he greeted me and returned to his room.

The information that Athena brought back after visiting the village chief was nothing special. Since she at least brought back a map, it wasn’t a bad result.

The day changed, and I packed my things early in the morning.

Since I only planned on coming back within the day, I only packed equipment, food, and the map that Athena had received.

“… Didn’t he say that the raid was yesterday at dawn?”

I had come straight to the mercenary guild as soon as the troll had left.

The reception was quick, and I accepted the request as soon as it came in.

“There should still be traces. Let’s go right away.”

I led the group and immediately headed toward the monster forest, and soon enough, I was able to discover the troll’s traces.

Even if it hadn’t been for me or Athena, who were used to this kind of thing, the traces were clear enough to easily find. Trolls were medium-sized monsters, and the one in question hadn’t even considered hiding its traces.

“But this… “What should we do?”

Athena looked at me with an expression that said she was annoyed.

“Here seems to be the territory of the giant spiders?”

I stayed silent at Athena’s words.

Certainly, it made sense for Athena to be annoyed.

‘Giant spiders… ‘

Although they were grouped together, there were many different types.

There were the ones that built nests with webs and hunted from there, the ones that didn’t build nests and instead wandered around hunting, and the ones that lived in caves and claimed the surrounding area as their territory.

Their hunting methods were diverse. However, in the monster forest, the places called the territories of giant spiders were usually places where the type that built nests with webs and lived there gathered.

These types had a huge difference in fighting power depending on whether they were outside or inside their territory, and to be honest, a giant spider without a nest couldn’t even defeat a giant ent in a 1:1 fight.

However, that changed if they had a nest.

They showed off their monstrous strength by hunting not only giant ents, but also goblins, trolls, giant mantises, and even orcs.

Therefore, when the time came for the young giant spiders to create their own territories, there were cases where the monsters in the area would surround the giant spider’s territory and kill them as soon as they came out.

‘In some ways, they’re similar to mages.’

They were relatively weak when they weren’t prepared, but they could unleash power several times stronger in a prepared space.

Of course, there weren’t any idiots who would compare mages to spiders.

On top of that, they had poison, which made them quite difficult to deal with.

Because of these characteristics, no mercenaries went hunting in the territories of giant spiders.

Although their exoskeletons were weak and didn’t sell for much, their fangs and spiderwebs sold for quite a bit.

‘The cost-benefit doesn’t match up.’

If I had the skill to go there, I would hunt other monsters.

No matter how good the money was, it wasn’t as important as my life, and although they could be sold for money, it wasn’t worth risking my life.

‘If there were people who used mana, that would be a different story… ‘

There weren’t any people like that nearby.

In other words, the giant spiders near here could be considered a nuisance.

‘A troll went to such a place… ‘

Inside their territory, giant spiders treated even orcs as prey, but that was different if it was a troll.

‘Since it’s medium-sized, spiderwebs are almost useless, and on top of that, trolls are quite resistant to poison… ‘

In some ways, they could be called natural enemies.

So, it must have gone there without hesitation.

“What should we do? Should we chase it?”

“…Ugh. We have to do this.”

It was a shame that I couldn’t use a proper fire attribute attack spell.

‘If it was a fire spell, the spider web wouldn’t be a problem.’

If there was a priest, it would be the icing on the cake since they could also detoxify us.

The venom of a Giant Spider isn’t that strong on its own.

In the first place, it’s not meant to kill, but rather to stun prey or keep it fresh by paralyzing it.

That’s why it wasn’t that hard to detoxify.

The reason it’s still worth money is because it’s used in various concoctions.

“I didn’t expect a Giant Spider, so I’m not prepared….”

“We’re not at a level where we need to worry. It doesn’t look like they can use mana.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Orga’s fluttered black hair will cut the spider web, and the undead are immune to poison.

Kyla, Athena, and Baldur are all experts, so they have strong resistance to poison, so unless they’re directly bitten, they’ll be fine…

‘I’ll be fine because I have the undead escorting me.’

As soon as I decided to enter, I brought out all the undead.

I put two of the Living Armors from the Four Knights of the Apocalypse as my escorts, and the other two in front.

Behind them were Skeletons 1 and 2, and the Specter was in front of them, scouting.

Kyla and Baldur guarded the left and right, and Athena took up a position in the rear where she could intervene at any time.

With me at the center, we formed a defensive formation and followed the troll’s trail into the Giant Spider’s territory.

“…Ugh.”

We hadn’t even gone far inside when Athena was already horrified.

We could see the half-melted corpses of beasts and monsters, all of them half-burst.

“The troll did this.”

Among them were the corpses of Giant Spiders with their bodies sagging or dismembered, and the sight of their prey still clinging to them was not a pleasant one.

However, the reason Athena was horrified seemed to be something else.

“What is this smell? Why does it smell so bad?”

“That’s the way it is.”

It seemed that this was Athena’s first time in a Giant Spider’s territory.

Their smell was worse than expected, and those who were not used to it could even vomit.

‘If I had come to a place like this when I was weak… I would have died a long time ago.’

Once you enter, it’s hard to get out alive.

It was a place you should never enter by mistake.

“…I didn’t expect this….”

However, she only muttered lightly and never let her guard down.

“…Enemy.”

The Specter sent a signal that it had found something, and Kyla quickly identified it.

“It’s a Giant Spider. It looks like one of the survivors is building a new home.”

In other words, the nest is not yet complete.

I quickly moved the formation forward.

The Giant Spider that found us was momentarily confused.

Hesitating whether to abandon the house he had built and run away or to stand and face them head-on.

There was a reason. The spiderweb was half-finished, admittedly incomplete, but still.

But it meant nothing.

Screech.

Specter launched the first attack.

A giant hand-like thing emerged from the black space below the sky and raked at the body of the Giant Spider.

The Giant Spider, feeling the pain, shot its thread quickly towards Specter, but Specter, whose physical form only materialized when attacking, received no damage.

The four Undead that followed then proceeded to destroy its house, and the Giant Spider, unable to escape elsewhere as it was focused on attacking Specter, ended up falling to the ground.

The Giant Spider, abandoned on the flat ground without a house, had a clear fate.

Its poison was ineffective against Undead, and without a house, it could not restrict their movements either.

The others didn’t even need to step forward.

“… It’s definitely weak.”

“Don’t underestimate it. It’s just that the situation was favorable; Even Orcs consider them as food.”

Giant Spiders that live in groups like this tribe are especially fearsome.

‘Normally, only one or two live in a wide area.’

Since there were many monsters in the vicinity, the Giant Spiders in the Monster Forest live in groups like this.

After the battle was over, I asked the Undead to burn the spiderweb that was covering the Giant Spider.

[Ember]

Whoosh.

A basic magic that I can use because it’s close to the fundamentals.

It’s a magic that belongs to Black Magic and can’t be used for anything other than this purpose, but it’s convenient in its own way. However… .

‘It’s still inefficient.’

I can use almost any Black Magic, but right now, I’m focusing on Necromancy as my main skill and Curses as my secondary skill, so I inevitably end up distancing myself from other categories.

In the previous round, I learned a wide range of skills without specializing in anything in particular in order to fit the Demon King’s Avatar as much as possible, but now I have a clear goal of becoming stronger and am specializing in skills for that purpose… .

‘It’s even more difficult since I haven’t made a contract with a Fire-using Demon.’

Black Magic’s ‘Fire’ is a bit special.

Even I, in my previous life, had never properly used the Fire attribute.

Unlike the Blessing of Magic, ‘Fire’ in Black Magic has a special meaning.

It’s fine at a low level, but it becomes harder to use as the level increases.

Even though I received the Blessing of Magic, this was a different story.

“Wow, if you can do that, can you do it for me too?”

Artena said, pointing to the spiderwebs stuck to her body here and there.

I shook my head and replied.

“No. It’s fine for them because they’re my Undead, but it’s dangerous for you.”

Artena silently backed down at my firm refusal.

After the first battle, we encountered Giant Spiders one after another, and whenever we found them, we dealt with them easily and moved on.

We discarded the spiderwebs, one of the byproducts. We had no preparation for collecting them, so we had no choice.

Artena muttered as if she couldn’t understand as I collected the Giant Spider’s fangs.

“We’ve come this far, but why are we going even deeper?”

I was curious about that too.

Trolls aren’t stupid.

It would have already raided a human village if it was just for the pleasure of the hunt.

‘I guess we’ll find out.’

And the question was answered soon.

Artina stared at the troll with a speechless expression.

It was using the Giant Spiders as tools.

“… Is that, a person?”

I answered Artina’s question shortly.

It was using the Giant Spiders to ‘store’ humans in spider webs, and it was eating one of them.

Thanks to that, the reason why it came here was easily guessed.

‘It must have needed a good listener.’

Of course, the ones that survived longer must have been inside, so it was highly likely that they were relatively intelligent.

It seemed that it killed the ones before us because they couldn’t understand its words and tried to eat it.

The one that was eating the stored human found us and raised its body.

“Crook.”

Its mouth was covered in red blood, and there was a dirty wooden pillar leaning next to it.