Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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At the intense attack, Henesia quickly deployed a protection spell, and Astrid stood in our way.

Clank.

Swish.

The sword at my waist, which I hadn’t used until now in battle.

It was a weapon that had been called the Holy Sword Ulperia in Thebes, resembling Astrid’s demi-god form.

“…Stay back.”

Judging by appearances, the opponent was using martial arts. Thus, it seemed Astrid decided it was her turn to draw her sword.

“……”

Boom!

The ensuing battle was fierce.

With incredible speed, both sides whipped through the Boss Room, exchanging sword strikes, and everything visible was shredded to pieces.

A fight even more intense than my battle against Julian Chenwiltz of the Seven Stars.

It appeared that Astrid was using nearly all her power for the first time.

Ka-boom!

Crumble!

Boom—!

In an instant, a massive shockwave erupted, sending both of them flying backward, and Astrid steadied her breath and spoke up.

“…Strong. It’s been a while since I’ve faced such an opponent.”

However, unlike the man who had sustained a small abdominal wound, Astrid was still in fine condition.

This meant she held a slight advantage in skill.

Having roughly assessed both sides’ levels, I gestured toward Astrid and slowly stepped forward.

“Now, I’ll take over.”

“…Teacher, are you sure it’s alright?”

I steadied my churning stomach and nodded.

I didn’t know the man’s identity, but he surely held crucial information.

It was a prime opportunity to unravel the secrets surrounding this dungeon situation, a chance I had to seize no matter what.

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, I pulled out the Book of Death, summoning a compartment, and immediately issued a serious instruction.

“Necromancy.”

“…Are you going to be okay?”

“Just do it quickly.”

As I stirred my soul, I felt the bindings surrounding me begin to weaken gradually.

Naturally, the enemy didn’t remain idle, but after Astrid skillfully held them at bay, she retreated behind me to assess the situation.

Realizing I was ready, I loosened my hand slightly and quietly summoned the Death Energy.

“If you have any sanity left, you might as well speak.”

“……”

“Seems this guy isn’t quite in his right mind after all.”

Boom!

No sooner had I finished speaking than the man charged at me with all his might.

Though his eyes bore no will, he must have instinctively judged my formidable power and acted accordingly.

“Gan-Gon-Yeon-Hwan-Dal-Baek-Do.”

The sword strike carried an even stronger momentum than before.

But it didn’t matter.

After all, between me and him, there existed an insurmountable gap in abilities.

“I’re in a hurry, so let’s wrap this up quick. Don’t hold a grudge.”

Whew.

Crack!

In an instant, gigantic hands erupted from the ground, gripping the man; he struggled violently but failed to shake them off.

And before I knew it, a sinister eye perched upon my palm began to gaze intently at him.

“Now, shall we take a little peek inside what you’ve got?”

Zap.

Swoosh.

In an instant, the vast memories embedded within the man’s soul began to unfold before me.

Although there were cracks and splits here and there, I could still manage to decipher them.

However, the moment I tried to grasp those memories, they began to lose color and crumbled without form.

As I relaxed my focus and looked at the man, his body had already turned to dust, scattering into the air.

‘As expected…’

I wasn’t sure who was behind it all, but there was a strong will to ensure we were left with no clues.

This powerful man had merely been a pawn on a game board,

I clicked my tongue and returned to my spot, while Henesia and Astrid stared at me with looks of surprise.

“…Now that I’ve grown stronger, it’s clear how absurd you really are, Teacher.”

“Well, perhaps in ten more years, there will be new things to see.”

Although Henesia had achieved extraordinary growth compared to before, she still wasn’t at the level of fully gauging me.

Additionally, now that I had somewhat unleashed my power, I could clearly assess the situation.

Currently, Astrid was stronger than Henesia. There was a good chance she had secret techniques she hadn’t shown in the recent fight.

‘…I wouldn’t dare say so before I reached my fiftieth year, though.’

By that time, I would’ve likely been crushing renowned necromancy factions across the continent and battling beasts in various secret realms to gather undead materials.

And even compared to that version of myself, Astrid was more than competent.

‘Henesia wouldn’t fall too far behind though…’

If the two were to face off now, Astrid would most likely emerge victorious.

I had come to understand the reason for this growing gap too.

‘Most likely, Henesia has taken on the bulk of tracking my whereabouts.’

That was beyond Astrid’s capability. Thus, Henesia had been stretched thin, leading to different training hours invested.

‘Being too capable can also lead to disadvantages.’

But perhaps, the current dynamic was the most ideal form.

Honestly, Henesia had more talent in areas beyond combat.

Proving that, she was now meticulously analyzing the events from earlier, expressing regret.

“I missed a good opportunity. I never expected interference of that level…”

In this case, the purpose of taking risks would seem moot.

However, I just smirked slightly at her words and muttered.

“Who says?”

“Excuse me?”

“Tsk. You should have anticipated that much already.”

Leaving behind a puzzled Henesia, I headed toward the suddenly appeared exit of the dungeon.

“Let’s get out of here for now.”

This place wasn’t our domain. Though it seemed the gaze had lifted, there was no harm in being cautious.

“I think we will see quite an interesting spectacle.”

At least, for us it should be for the better.

#

Startled, Vice President Seo Da Hye and her subordinates were left behind as we moved to a quiet location.

‘Shall we see what treasure it holds?’

In truth, even before the fight with him, I had recalled what had transpired with the previous Returner, Shin Do Yoon.

Surely at that time, when I tried to engage with him, he had wiped out every memory of Shin Do Yoon, completely erasing all connections.

‘There’s no guarantee that this guy is the same one responsible for the dungeon incident…’

But it was entirely possible something similar could happen again.

That’s why I had already prepared an insurance policy.

Swish.

Seeing the item I revealed, Henesia and Astrid tilted their heads.

“What’s this?”

“A headpiece. The one that guy was wearing earlier.”

Even though the man’s body and all else had turned to dust, I managed to keep this headpiece thanks to my prior efforts.

‘No, apart from the body, this piece was the only thing that was actually intact.’

Of course, they were real items, but for some reason, they felt timeless.

And from now on, while the powers returned by necromancy remained intact, I would delve into the memories contained within this headpiece.

“Of course, I can’t uncover a lot.”

Divining a human soul is already a challenging task; not to mention this headpiece is just a simple item. Had it not been made from living wood, this would be extremely difficult.

However, that tiny bit of information could be the key that leads us to the answers.

“I need to focus, so please keep an eye on the surroundings.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Swoosh.

Whew.

I placed the wooden headpiece in my hand, attentively pressing my soul against it.

Slowly, the images began to unfold.

Taking my time, I adjusted the waves, and soon the shapes grew clearer.

‘This place is…’

A world full of unfamiliar architecture styles and landscapes.

It wasn’t a civilization that felt completely alien, but there was indeed a distinct difference from Earth.

And inside one of the tallest structures, a man received the headpiece from a woman.

‘But still, the atmosphere…’

It wasn’t a gift to commemorate or celebrate anything.

It was as if it bore the weight of farewell, the woman passing the headpiece with an unendingly heavy expression. Her hands quivered, revealing a complex array of emotions.

And the man, wearing it on his head, silently walked towards the place he must head.

Numerous backgrounds flowed by like mist, and soon, the man raised his head to gaze at something, halting in place.

What the man looked up at.

It was, astonishingly, an enormous dungeon gate.