Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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“Inspection completed! The rank is S4, small. The detailed figures have been documented.”

“Ugh, got it. Good job.”

An S4 rank small dungeon, I somewhat expected it, but hearing it confirmed made me feel gloomy.

Fortunately, it was small, and the rank was the lowest among S ranks, but the very title of being an S rank dungeon brought a heavy burden.

Shin Yun-cheol, the head of the Dungeon Management Department, looked at the portal flickering like the entrance to hell with a troubled expression.

“Minister. There is a risk of exposure to mana flowing out from the gate. Perhaps you should step back.”

“I know. It’s just that I’m feeling a bit frustrated.”

Thinking about pushing competent hunters from South Korea into this situation again, it was understandable that I felt uneasy.

However, it had to be done. That was what hunters did, and it was the perfect way to protect the citizens.

“…Are you worried?”

“If I said no, it would be a lie.”

There had been a few joint operations with foreign countries, but this was only the second time an S rank portal had opened in South Korean territory.

And at the first S rank dungeon, despite receiving support from neighboring countries, the level of damage was something I didn’t even want to think about.

Of course, the overall quality of hunters had improved since then, but there was no guarantee that the same situation wouldn’t occur again.

An employee spoke up, seeing Shin Yun-cheol’s troubled expression.

“However, it’s true that the situation isn’t too dire. The new S rank hunter, Baek Eun Ha, has appeared, and even Chae Hwa In has been resurrected as her undead.”

“Those two will indeed be a great help. However…”

Shin Yun-cheol still couldn’t be certain about Baek Eun Ha. It wasn’t that he doubted her capabilities, but rather that there was too little information about her.

‘Until I see how much talent she displays, I won’t know for sure.’

Shin Yun-cheol had to be cautious given his position. It wasn’t something to just rejoice about because their strength had increased.

However, his worries quickly turned out to be pointless.

Right after that, he received news from Seo Da-hye, the Vice President of the Korean Hunter Association, that Baek Eun Ha was heading towards the dungeon.

Moreover, she claimed she would be entering the dungeon alone with France’s S rank hunter, Celestia Yesiel.

“Did you approve that? Do you really think it’s possible?”

[If it weren’t possible, she wouldn’t have stepped in. That’s just how she is.]

Since Seo Da-hye had interacted with Baek Eun Ha a few times before, it was likely that she knew her better than Shin Yun-cheol did.

Given that Shin Yun-cheol had no decision-making power, he had no choice but to trust her, even if it felt like being tricked.

“I’m not so sure if this is okay.”

“Isn’t that Xavier, one of the Seven Stars, in the dungeon? I think there’s a good chance.”

That wasn’t wrong. Although Shin Yun-cheol hadn’t seen them in person, he heard that hunters known as the Seven Stars possessed incomprehensible strength.

‘…I have no choice.’

Shin Yun-cheol let out a sigh of resignation and soon left his post.

After all, the situation was already out of his hands.

The only thing he could do now was pray that Baek Eun Ha’s reputation wasn’t in vain.

#

Hooow.

Swoosh.

“What is this, practically a palace?”

The path to the dungeon wasn’t difficult; it seemed all formalities had already been taken care of, and now there was no one blocking me, an S-rank hunter.

Within the gate, I found a passageway of an old-fashioned design I had never seen before.

“I heard it was small, but it seems bigger than I expected.”

“Right? But if the information we checked is correct, there shouldn’t be that many monsters.”

As I slowly scanned the surroundings while walking, all of a sudden, Yesiel next to me unleashed divine power and began chanting a spell.

“I’ll bless you before we enter.”

“What? What are you blessing?”

Suddenly, I felt a dizzying sensation and had no choice but to jump up and flail around.

“Ugh!”

Zzzzt.

Crackle crackle!

“It hurts! It’s stinging! What are you doing? Turn it off!”

“Gah!”

Shocked by my reaction, Yesiel withdrew the blessing, but the pain lingered for a while, tormenting me.

After I managed to shake off the lingering divine power somehow, I shot Yesiel an annoyed glare.

“Are you crazy? Why do you suddenly go for a team kill?”

“I-I’m sorry! I just did it out of habit…”

Well, casting a blessing before combat was common sense for a cleric class.

However, for a necromancer like me, it was of no help at all. It was more of a hindrance.

“…It’s surprising how bad the party compatibility is.”

“I-I’ll be careful.”

“Just stay in front and take the hits. I’ll take care of the attacks.”

If she used her divine power solely for her recovery, it shouldn’t be a big issue, but entering the dungeon made it way more bothersome than I had anticipated.

We started moving slowly down the passage, keeping some distance between us.

“This place has too many paths. Can’t we sense the divine power from far away or something?”

“It’s a bit hard. Unless my master uses a huge technique openly, the energy doesn’t leak out much. Plus, the mana flowing through the dungeon interferes.”

“That’s useless.”

I had heard that there were quite a few citizens caught up in the awakening of the dungeon seed, so it’s likely that Xavier was gathering and protecting them.

In the end, our choices were limited to finding and joining Xavier or heading to the boss room to clear the dungeon by ourselves.

“Let’s just break it. If we’re lucky, we might run into him, and if we clear it, everything will be resolved anyway.”

“Yes. That sounds better. If it’s Eun Ha, she has enough ability for that.”

“……”

I said it confidently, but when you think about it, the situation wasn’t that relaxed.

‘I really don’t want to use necromancy again.’

Having just regained my strength, I didn’t want to revert to being powerless for another week, nor could I tell when Hades would reveal his teeth.

If possible, I had to clear this dungeon using only the power I currently possessed.

“I can sense some kind of presence.”

“Yeah.”

But upon seeing the monsters that soon revealed themselves, I had to admit that such thoughts were very arrogant.

Clank.

Clank.

Boom!

“Fully armored? And divine power? Could it be…?”

“Oh man. No wonder I had a bad feeling all along.”

What appeared before us was a living statue, which seemed to be modeled after a paladin.

And the theme of this dungeon was none other than—

“Could it really be a divine temple?”

“…This is bad.”

A place dedicated to the gods, the very stronghold of those who could be considered the natural enemy of a necromancer.