Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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As we approached a place where everyone was gathered, Xavier seemed to sense our presence and came over to greet us first.

“…You’ve come. Who’s the person beside you?”

“This is Baek Eun Ha. She mentioned being curious about her Master.”

“Ho, I didn’t expect to meet you in such a place, but it’s nice to see you. Is there only two of you for support?”

“There’s a backup team being prepared, but it’ll likely be some time before they arrive.”

Sneaking a glance, the state of the civilians did not look very good. I nodded slightly at Xavier’s words and immediately got to the point.

“We need to sacrifice something, right?”

“You were already aware of that; well, then this will go quickly. It’s a quite maliciously crafted portal, so destroying it with sheer force isn’t easy.”

“Got it, I roughly understand what you mean.”

I waved my hand to push the civilians away and stepped in front of the altar, meticulously analyzing the spell hanging there.

After about a minute, I was able to reach a conclusion.

“I can解除 this.”

“Really? It seemed to have a considerable level of magic set upon it.”

“If it gets caught by me, it’ll be in for some trouble.”

Well, it’s only natural that what seems astonishing to Xavier would be hard to believe.

After all, I was once an absolute powerhouse of an era that even the heroes called legendary would hesitate to face.

For me, this level of magic was merely child’s play.

“However, breaking this will take a considerable amount of energy, so I think you’ll need to take responsibility for what comes next.”

“Count on me. With Yesiel here, it’s more than enough.”

Nodding, I walked straight to the altar and drew forth my magical and death energies.

‘Definitely quite malicious.’

The effect was clear.

Five human lives must be sacrificed to open the path to the Boss Room, a death altar.

If a Hunter deployed in an S Rank Dungeon, each one of those lives would be a precious force, so advancing would incur tremendous damage.

‘Rather, it might lead to internal division.’

No wonder the dungeon monsters were patterned after Paladin statues; they would surely replenish over time and attack those trapped here.

Indeed, it was wickedness worthy of an S Rank Dungeon.

However, this time, the situation was not in their favor.

‘As that guy said, breaking it by force won’t be easy.’

So, I had to create the illusion that an appropriate amount of sacrifices had been made to this altar.

“Undead Call.”

What I needed was a spell that combined necromancy and witchcraft, the spirit doll of the witch Ophelia, known across the continent from Thebes.

‘The trick isn’t complicated.’

It could be likened to the self-aware skeleton Song Ha Yeon had created last time.

However, it needed to be of much higher quality. Only then could I deceive the spell hanging on the altar.

I conjured a stone golem and embedded strands of my hair into it before beginning to breathe life into the counterfeit spirit.

Swish.

Hooom.

By the time I finished all the crafting, a full 20 minutes had passed.

Without hesitation, I sacrificed each of the spirit dolls I had created onto the altar.

Thud.

Crumble!

Crumble!

Finally, after all the dolls lost their forms and vanished, the enormous door blocking the Boss Room began to respond.

Creak.

Boom!

“…Did we really open it? That’s impressive.”

Xavier admired and took the lead again, while Yesiel cast a broad blessing upon the civilians who were pressure-laden by the dungeon’s energy.

“Blessing of Light.”

Hooom!

Swoosh!

With that, all preparations were complete.

However, we couldn’t bring the civilians into the Boss Room, so someone needed to stay behind to protect them.

And naturally, that role fell to me, having expended considerable energy.

“I’ll finish it and open the door within an hour.”

“I believe Eun Ha will be fine, but still, be careful.”

With that, the two entered the Boss Room for the final assault, and I sighed and sat down on the floor to take a rest.

“Um, um excuse me.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. The only enemy here is at most the statues. I’m sure the Boss will be able to handle it.”

“Is that so? But, I have something to say…”

At the words of a bespectacled young man among the civilians, I made a gesture of curiosity, encouraging him to continue.

And the answer that followed was completely unexpected.

“…I thought it was just in my head until now, but there was something strange among the statues that attacked us.”

“What was strange?”

“One of the statues had a pattern on its helmet that seemed odd, and I think the design was similar to the one engraved on the altar ahead…”

Hearing that, I frowned slightly and questioned again.

“Was Xavier aware of this?”

“Uh, he didn’t mention it, but he might have failed to notice it since he struck the statue from a distance.”

“…That’s definitely strange.”

If what this young man said was true, it couldn’t be brushed off lightly. At the very least, it meant that it had the same pattern, suggesting there might be some connection between the magic on this altar and something else.

‘Could it be…?’

Without bothering to think far away, the simplest case was already right in front of me.

What if that sacrifice altar was not merely for reducing the intruders’ power and causing internal discord?

What if it had some plan to utilize the life energy of the sacrificed lives for some other purpose?

‘…….’

Hooom.

Swish!

I immediately took out the Book of Death out of rising vigilance and once again summoned the Cyclops triplets.

Before long, I began to hear leisurely footsteps coming from the passage presumed to have been used by Xavier.

“…If you don’t want to die, back up to the entrance of the Boss Room.”

“Y-yes, understood!”

Indeed, this dungeon is wicked to the end.

I glared at the approaching Paladin statue, exuding a bizarre feeling of divine energy while quietly drawing upon the Death Energy I needed.

#

Xavier and Yesiel, who had entered the Boss Room of the dungeon, began progressing while pondering over the unexpectedly massive interior.

For a small dungeon to have a Boss Room of this size, it was certainly not a common occurrence.

“I can’t feel any energy that suggests a Boss Monster.”

“Neither can I. It seems it’s not just me.”

Among S Rank Hunters, these two had exceptional sensory abilities. It was strange that they couldn’t sense any energy even in such a vast Boss Room.

As they ventured further inside the Boss Room, they finally reached the far end.

“…This seems to be the end.”

“I sent divine energy throughout the whole area, but there was no reaction.”

Something felt very wrong. As that thought began to invade their minds.

[Oh dear, it seems we have some delightful guests.]

Suddenly, someone appeared from behind where there had clearly been no one before.

An old man with ash-gray, pale skin that looked like a corpse.

He was dressed in a priest’s robe that didn’t suit him and was staring at Xavier and Yesiel.

“You are….”

“You are the master of this dungeon. I’ll be removing you shortly.”

Though I said that, it was the first time Yesiel felt a tension since stepping into the dungeon.

A sentient, humanoid Boss.

It was a type considered one of the most troublesome among high-rank dungeon bosses.

Moreover, even though he was right in front of them, they couldn’t sense any presence or energy from him.

This unknown dread was pressing down on Yesiel.

[There’s no need to rush. After all, you can do nothing.]

“What do you mean by that?”

[This is what I mean.]

Crumble.

The moment he finished speaking, the old man’s figure began to flicker as if it were an illusion.

As they witnessed that, the two finally realized why they hadn’t felt any presence or energy from him.

“Are you not the main body?”

[Correct. Therefore, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that you have no way to hurt me while trapped here.]

That couldn’t be possible.

The fact that the Boss Monster did not exist within the Boss Room completely defied the previously established rules of dungeons.

However, the astute Xavier picked up on an oversight in that line of thought.

“This place isn’t the Boss Room. I’ve been completely fooled.”

[That’s right. You seem to possess quite an acute mind.]

However.

[Regardless, having entered here, your fate is practically sealed.]

“What the…?”

[This is a sort of quarantine space. The energy of your lives will gradually flow into my true body outside.]

Hooom.

Slurp.

As those words were spoken, the life energy truly started to siphon out from the two.

In that critical moment, Xavier looked worriedly towards the entrance of the fake Boss Room.

‘…I need to somehow hold on until help arrives.’

Just moments ago, the drained Baek Eun Ha and the lives of the civilians now depended on her.