The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“It’s fine. It was a simple task. Please fill out the completion certificate carefully.”

“Of, of course.”

He signed the request as if he were going to do it right away and even handed over the completion certificate.

If I give this to the mercenary guild, I will be able to receive the payment minus the commission.

In the meantime, the requested pillars arrived, and I asked Kayla to sharpen the ends.

I stabbed the finished stakes into the limbs of the troll that was lying face down.

“Kuwaak!”

The terrible pain suddenly broke the enchantment, and the troll went on a rampage, but it was no use against Kayla’s violence.

She subdued it, and Kayla hammered in the stakes one by one.

Soon, the troll’s eyes became half-dead again.

Once stakes were hammered into every joint, it could do nothing but squirm.

‘It almost won’t regenerate.’

It would be fine if I gave it something to eat, but I had no intention of doing so.

‘The bleeding stopped well.’

If left alone for a long time, it will die, but since I sent people through the village chief, they probably won’t leave it alone for that long.

A day at most? A troll is not a monster that is weak enough to die in just one day.

“Let’s rest until the people come. The first time… .”

“I’ll do it.”

Baldur stepped forward, and I nodded.

“So be it.”

I told him that if the villagers were to harm the troll, he should stop them unless the troll’s life was in danger.

Baldur nodded as if he understood what I meant.

We headed to the accommodation that had been assigned to us, and as soon as we entered the village, some of the villagers ran towards the corpses.

A loud cry could be heard, and Atrina looked back every once in a while.

She also seemed to understand that pain as she had family.

‘I did indeed lose my parents.’

At the same time, looking at her tightly clenched fist, it seemed like she was vowing to herself that she would never end up like that.

After all, she still had her younger sibling.

We returned to the lodge and got plenty of rest, and around evening, the village chief visited the lodge with Baldur.

It seemed like he had taken over for Athena.

I allowed them to enter, feeling curious about their sudden visit.

I ordered Baldur to rest and sat down in the living room with the village chief.

“What’s going on?”

“I came to express my gratitude and apology.”

The village chief stood up from his seat and bowed his head deeply.

“I would like to apologize for the rudeness I displayed the first day. I did not know that you were this kind of person… .”

“No. “I have been prepared for that ever since I chose to be a black magician.”

I didn’t mind. That wasn’t even rude.

“I apologize and thank you. And… I also heard that you allowed the townspeople to vent their anger on the troll.”

Apparently, one of the bereaved family members, unable to bear seeing their family as corpses, threw a stone at the troll in anger.

In fact, the troll was practically my property, so the terrified village chief tried to stop them, but Baldur explained the situation.

“It doesn’t matter as long as they don’t kill it. If it can help them ease their sorrow over losing their family, then that’s good enough.”

“… I really don’t know if you’re a black magician or not. Thinking about the undead I saw during the day, it seems like you might be… .”

The village chief greeted his head and expressed his gratitude once more.

“On behalf of the people of Nolmeri Village, I would like to express our gratitude.”

Instead of speaking, I simply nodded humbly, as if it were a bit of a burden.

After a moment of silence, the village chief shared some new information.

“Fortunately, the two survivors you rescued are in good condition. The doctor confirmed that they will wake up tomorrow at the latest.”

“That’s because it’s giant spider venom.”

“The doctor said the same thing. Did the troll head towards their territory?”

I didn’t really want to tell him, but since he asked, I told him the truth.

The village chief’s hands shook when he heard that they had practically been stored as food by the giant spider.

“That’s why I couldn’t find the two eyeballs.”

“… “Thank you for telling me.”

After hesitating for a moment, the village chief spoke.

“As a reward for your kindness, which was unrelated to the request, if you ever visit our village again, whether it’s for a request or not, we will always provide you with lodging and food.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“I apologize that this is all I can offer.”

That’s actually enough.

I could see it as an outcome that exceeded my expectations.

Starting from here, rumors about me will spread far and wide.

It’s not easy for rumors to spread about a black magician, but if that black magician doesn’t act like a black magician, the rumors will spread even faster.

‘How interesting.’

There might be some who come to check out the rumors, but I just have to get through the beginning well.

In addition to that, the village chief expressed his gratitude once more on behalf of the people of Nolmeri Village, especially the bereaved families, and said that they might come and visit us once they have settled down.

I had told him earlier that I would have to leave the village early because of the trolls, and the headman nodded as if he couldn’t help it.

“But please come visit us again later. If they come looking for you, please don’t turn them away.”

“There’s no reason to turn them away.”

The conversation proceeded in a warm atmosphere, different from when I first visited, and after a light cup of tea, the headman returned home, saying he had overstayed his welcome late at night.

As he left, I felt like I had successfully completed my first request.

‘If it continues like this, I’ll be able to start in less than a month.’

I was quite satisfied.

Late at night, Kyla left the inn to take over for Athena, and by dawn, I had taken over for Kyla.

As I watched the day break, Baldur came to find me.

“Huh? It shouldn’t be time yet?”

“That’s… Master.”

“What’s the matter? Why do you look like that?”

Baldur’s face was quite bewildered.

“That’s…. There are people from the castle looking for you.”

“Ah, Cheolchang? He came early.”

At this speed, it was likely that the Magic Tower had moved directly.

‘He must have felt good.’

However, it seemed that the Magic Tower was more impatient than I thought.

“That… Cheolchang did come… .”

Baldur continued as if he was a little taken aback.

“Cheolchang didn’t come alone.”

I asked, my heart pounding.

“…Did he come from the Magic Tower himself? The wizard?”

“Yes. It seems like he’s quite high-ranking.”

I didn’t need to hear Baldur’s explanation.

That was because a group of people were approaching from afar.

The wizard at the forefront approached me and said.

“Ah, are you the one? The newly registered black wizard.”

He looked at me with a very bright expression and said.

“Nice to meet you. I am Otriocka, a 5th class wizard and the branch manager of the Doriem Magic Tower branch.”

He suddenly held out his hand to me.

I hid my hardened expression and took his hand.

Past grudges

“Nice to meet you. I am Inha, a necromancer.”

“Oh, nice to meet you. I heard from the guild. You tried to capture the trolls because we needed them?”

It seemed like the mercenary guild had spoken well of me.

I wasn’t that oblivious, so I nodded and replied.

For your information, wizards with high circles and classes are jerks.

This level of contempt is considered polite. I don’t know if it’s because they caught the trolls or because there was a high-level expert in the party.

Depending on the person, some people even speak informally right away. Even so, it’s better to just accept it if they’re at a higher level than me.

If you have any background, that’s enough.

I’m currently a 4th class, and my opponent is a 5th class.

I’m a new mercenary black magician who has just entered the territory with no background, and my opponent is a proven magician who has risen to the position of branch manager of the Magic Tower.

The situation is lacking in every way, so I should consider this treatment as a matter of saving face.

But if I rise to the 6th class, the story will change.

Of course, magicians are people too, so they are influenced by human relationships such as connections, positions, teachers, seniors, and juniors, but at the same time, many ignore these things, so the most important things are circles and classes.

Other than that, achievements such as research results?

It couldn’t be helped because there are many people who are crazy in the eyes of normal people, so the standards had to be like that.

“This is a rare sight for a black magician. If all black magicians were like this, they wouldn’t be treated like they are now.”

The branch manager of the Magic Tower said with a chuckle.

“So, is this the troll you caught this time?”

“Yes. It was difficult to control, so I had no choice but to leave it like this.”

“Of course. What’s wrong with it being a troll? If you just feed it well, the broken joints will heal on their own, so there’s no problem. No, rather, it’s amazing that you made it like this with just the right amount. “I heard your colleagues are excellent at their work.”

“Yes.”

Otriocka spoke to me, but his gaze often moved to the troll.

In his eyes, there was a strong greed.

“It seems that you really needed the troll.”

“Ahem. That’s right. There’s a potion I was working on this time, but it has some side effects.”

There’s poison in the potion ingredients, and it’s quite toxic, so the experimental monsters can’t handle it.

“There are several hypotheses, but it’s difficult to set the direction and criteria. They die before I can check the reaction… Ugh.”

He says he needs a troll for that. Well, if it’s a troll, it can withstand even a small amount of poison.

‘The process must be painful, but I don’t know.’

If you care about that, you’re not a magician.

“I’m very glad that my small effort was helpful in your research.”

The branch manager of the Magic Tower smiles, pleased with my lip service.

“Hahaha. Tower Master. You’re making a big deal out of it! I’m just the branch manager of the branch. To be a Tower Master, you have to be at least a 6th class!”

He says that, but he doesn’t even think about lowering the corners of his mouth.

There were often magicians who were weak to flattery, and Otriocka seemed to be one of them.

‘Surprisingly, there are quite a few childish guys among magicians.’

Many people think that magicians are wise and intelligent, but magicians’ knowledge is biased towards magic and their own field of study. It’s true that they tend to be intelligent, but that’s a separate issue from personality.

They have a lot of knowledge, but it’s hard to say that they are wise.

They also tend to be stubborn and many are trapped in their own world.

Especially those who are highly skilled… tend to be like that.

Of course, not all of them are like that. However, it is an undeniable fact that a considerable number of them are like that.

‘Those who are crazy about magic.’

Only those who are like that can climb to the top, and that’s why there are many magicians with personalities that are difficult for ordinary people to understand.

“Ah, is that so? The branch is also called a tower, so….”

“The shape is right.”

Otriocka boasted that if his research on this potion was successfully completed, his research achievements would be recognized and he might be promoted from a branch to a full-fledged tower and receive the title of Tower Master.

It’s not impossible. It’s not unheard of for a 5th class to become a full-fledged Tower Master.

‘Sometimes the top master is the one with the best research results or the one who has no one to succeed them.’

The former is somewhat better, but in the latter case, they tend to be ignored. And most of the top masters of the 5th class are in the latter case, so what Ottrioca said earlier was a common perception.

‘Independence…’

It’s not that easy. But I didn’t show it.

I chose to follow his lead moderately, and thanks to that, I succeeded in forming a pretty good image.

“You’re quite eloquent!”

“It’s an honor.”

“Hmm. Anyway, I can’t just let this kind of thing pass by. The mercenary guild said 10 gold, right? I’ll give you an extra gold.”

I didn’t feel much. One gold isn’t a small amount of money. But when I think about the opportunities I’ll catch in the future, it’s true that I don’t feel that great.

Meanwhile, Athena, Kayla, and Balder, who had heard the news, came here with their equipment, and I received the money and handed over the troll on the spot. It seemed like they had prepared in advance because it was quite urgent.

‘Well, how many chances are there like this?’

Monster hunters are rare and not well recognized, so their numbers are extremely small.

Especially since those who are skilled are monopolized by merchants, even the branch manager of the Doriem Magic Tower branch couldn’t easily obtain a live troll.

So when this opportunity came…