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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 26
The royal palace of the Bata Kingdom was a place that, whether one liked it or not, had to be visited at least once.
This time, we needed to report the situation and secure the king’s official approval for Melissa’s formal succession.
While riding in the carriage, Melissa was busy sorting through documents she hadn’t been able to handle back at the estate, nearly pulling her hair out in frustration.
Meanwhile, I focused on creating a mana circle, the very foundation of necromancy magic.
Thankfully, no one noticed the necromantic mana I was using.
Highly refined necromantic mana was virtually indistinguishable from life force itself.
It was like air—nobody questions its presence unless something is very off.
Honestly, if it were up to me, I’d have stayed back in the county working on perfecting ice cream rather than making this trip to the royal palace.
But there was no avoiding it.
If there was a silver lining, it was that the journey to the capital went smoothly without any troublesome interruptions.
Upon arriving at the capital, where the royal palace was located, the bustling energy stood in stark contrast to the relative quiet of the county.
Merchants moved in and out in droves, and the streets were packed with people.
“There sure are a lot more people here than in the county.”
“Don’t embarrass yourself by gawking.”
“Hey, aren’t you amazed? There are so many people!”
She exclaimed, clearly fascinated by the capital’s liveliness.
But to me, it wasn’t all that impressive.
After all, I still remembered my previous life, where fifty million people crammed into a tiny landmass was the norm.
If anything, I found the capital relaTyvely sparse for what it was supposed to be.
“I’m going to meet His Majesty the King right away and get my official Expert certification. Then, during the evening noble’s banquet, we’ll hold the ceremony for the transfer of the countship. Please, I’m begging you—don’t cause any trouble in front of the royals and all the nobles.”
After making her point, she left for the palace with her attendants, taking only the essentials for her stay.
Of course, I wasn’t entirely comfortable letting her go alone, so I summoned the one wraith I still had in my possession: Tyvel Cascadia.
-Grrrr….
Although his soul was completely broken, his form remained intact, allowing me to turn him into an undead.
Rather than a skeletal form, I maintained him in a wraith-like state.
Visibly, he was a common wraith—his figure faintly glowing with a bluish hue here and there.
“If I leave him like this, he’ll be useless.”
At my command, Tyvel let out a low, beast-like growl, his body swaying unsteadily.
I recalled the time I first arrived at the Hall of Necromancy, where I was handed a staff to begin my training in necromancy.
Seriously, I’ve died a lot.
At least a sword could stab and kill something; with just a staff, I had to struggle helplessly against goblins.
The memory alone gave me a headache.
Even though it was all in the past, the horrific memories remained vivid.
“Let’s start by giving him physical power.”
I wrapped Tyvel’s entire body in necromantic mana, coating him like a second skin.
Then I filled his core with the mana, saturating it completely until it was as though I had dyed him in my own color.
“Librarian.”
[Acknowledged.]
“The magic I’ve mastered so far—is it significantly different from traditional necromancers’ techniques?”
[It is presumed to differ in some areas.]
In some cases, I had spells they didn’t know, and in others, I lacked spells they had.
Thinking about it, I had essentially crafted my own unique style of magic.
Of course, most of the ideas stemmed from my memories.
After granting him physical strength, I moved on to improving his core attributes.
Tyvel had been an Intermediate Expert in life, but I had torn his soul apart to the point where it was irreparably damaged.
To make him effective, I needed to strengthen him my way.
Even so, there was a clear limit to how much I could enhance him.
The three key elements I prioritized were strength, speed, and sensory perception.
If his soul hadn’t been so damaged, I could have made him much stronger.
But I didn’t regret my actions.
I cast the enhancement spells not once but two, three times, layering them like coats of paint.
“Hide in Melissa’s shadow and remain unseen. If anyone tries to harm her, reveal yourself and protect her with all your might. Even if it destroys you.”
Persecution for using necromancy was a thing of the past in most countries or a relic of history in a few.
At my command, Tyvel slowly phased through the wall and disappeared.
“Now that I think about it, there’s supposed to be an underground dungeon in the capital.”
The reason for its existence was a bit absurd, but the dungeon had been there for centuries.
It was a massive dungeon that provided an incredible amount of resources, serving as the foundation of the Bata Kingdom’s economy.
Thankfully, monsters never left the dungeon, making it the perfect place for explorers to venture.
“Hm, I’ve got a few hours….”
Since the banquet wasn’t until the evening, I figured I’d take a quick look.
I didn’t need to rush to buy ingredients for ice cream or magical tools to aid my necromancy.
I got up from my seat.
“Huh?! Young master! Where are you going?”
Harpon asked, Melissa’s knight, as he hurried to follow me.
“I’m heading to the dungeon.”
“The dungeon in the capital? Why would you—?”
“For a walk. Don’t bother following me.”
He looked at me with a conflicted expression.
“But Miss Melissa ordered me to guard you…”
“Sir Harpon.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Stay here unless you plan to overpower me.”
He shut his mouth at my question.
“I’ll bring back something tasty on my way back, so just relax until then.”
“…Fine,”
He grumbled.
After shaking off Harpon, I leisurely walked to the dungeon’s location.
“Wow….”
The dungeon’s entrance resembled a massive building.
Two soldiers stood guard at the entrance.
“What brings you here?”
One of them asked.
“I am Leon Cascadia, eldest son of the Count of Cascadia,”
I said, pulling out my identification badge.
The guards immediately straightened their posture.
“Welcome, my lord. What brings you to this place?”
"Not a big deal, just thought I'd take a stroll into the dungeon. Can I enter?"
"Um... by yourself, sir? Ah, yes, you may proceed."
When I slightly unsheathed my sword, letting the blade glimmer with a flash of aura, they instinctively stepped aside.
They probably didn't want any unnecessary trouble with a noble's child.
"Thanks for your hard work."
"My lord, you may freely venture up to the 5th floor, but below that requires special authorization."
"Appreciate it."
I wasn't planning to go that deep anyway.
* * *
In dungeons, the deeper you go, the stronger the monsters you encounter.
This dungeon periodically spawns monsters, and defeating them occasionally drops magic stones.
"Let’s see... So, the end of this dungeon is still unexplored."
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HELHEIM SCANS
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Nobody knows what lies at the end, but something in there is clearly responsible for the continuous spawning of monsters and the magic stones they drop.
Magic stones are widely used by mages or for crafting everyday artifacts by guilds.
Even in our county, items like refrigerators and freezers—magical artifacts—are made using such resources.
Creeeak... Creak creak!
When I first entered, there were quite a few people around, but as I ventured deeper, monsters began appearing one by one.
Goblins, to be exact.
"Goblins as the first monsters, huh..."
They might seem trivial, but these creatures are cunning enough to be a nuisance.
[It is presumed that such dungeons are generally avoided unless one has a clear purpose.]
"That does seem to be the case."
I thought about drawing my sword as usual, but then I changed my mind.
After all, why had I come to this dungeon in the first place?
The answer was to test necromancy and unbox some wraiths.
A dungeon like this is the perfect place for it.
Digging up graves just to summon undead wasn’t exactly an option, so I’d have to settle for turning monsters into undead.
After quickly scanning the area, I extended my hand toward the two goblins approaching me.
[Confuse]
[Paralyze]
[Poison Fog]
In an instant, a cloud of poisonous mist accompanied by two debilitating debuffs engulfed the goblins.
Confused and writhing in pain, they collapsed shortly after, foaming at the mouth.
"Necromancers are all about overwhelming numbers."
Quantity over quality, as they say.
Extending my hand toward the deceased goblins, I made a pulling motion, as if yanking something out of thin air.
Screeeech!
The souls of the goblins, wrenched from their bodies, were drawn to my grasp.
Though they let out ear-piercing screams in defiance, they quivered in fear under the dominion of my necromantic mana.
"Alright, focus here. Look closely."
I then showed them my middle finger.
[Dominate]
Flash!
A dark light flared from my fingertip, and the goblin souls began transforming, fully submitting to me as my undead minions.
"Line up, everyone. Time for some upgrades."
I coated their bodies in necromantic mana and enhanced their strength, speed, and senses, just as I had with Tyvel’s wraith.
Let’s limit it to three layers of enhancements for now.
A proper staff would make this easier, but when have I ever relied on a staff for casting spells?
In Labyrinthos, a staff was nothing more than a glorified club.
With necromantic mana saturating their undead forms, the goblins now possessed physical strength, circling around me as if to guard me.
Since I gave them corporeal form, they would be visible to others as well.
Not that it mattered.
"Now then, your job is to recruit some friends."
After all, they were just monsters.
"Attack anything you see."
Grrr...
Snarl...
The undead goblins, their veins visibly bulging, charged at the other goblins appearing nearby with ferocious intensity.
The greatest strength of the undead lies in their tireless nature and their immunity to most fatal blows.
In other words, they are an army of immortals.
Of course, my approach to handling the undead differed from the traditional method of sending skeletons to the frontlines.
I primarily utilized wraith-type undead—disembodied spirits.
Ordinarily, wraiths lack physical power, rendering them incapable of directly breaking or cutting through objects.
However, I circumvented this limitation by imbuing them with physical strength.
Though slightly weaker compared to their skeletal forms, these enhanced wraiths gained significant freedom from physical constraints.
Just like Tyvel’s wraith lurking in Melissa’s shadow.
Screech!
The terrified goblins tried to flee, but the horde of undead goblins relentlessly chased them down and smashed them to pieces.
There was no need to arm them with weapons; they were already stronger than their living counterparts.
Of course, it helped that goblins were weak to begin with.
When I first became a necromancer and started working with undead, even controlling ordinary skeletons had been a struggle.
The lack of dominance over them had been the issue.
But now?
This was a completely different story.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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