Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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I was startled and quickly got up from Helena’s embrace in a perplexing situation.

Looking around with a stunned expression, I saw Ayla looking at me as if I were cute.

What on earth just happened?

“Are you okay?”

“Well, I’m okay, but…”

I definitely remember confirming the ring’s effect.

I had conducted the test for about 15 minutes, and during that time, my side effects visibly improved.

However, after that, my memory of when the effect stopped was hazy.

When I fixed an accusing gaze on Helena, she avoided my look, seemingly trying to suppress a smile, and said to me:

“Um, you got drunk.”

“What?”

“I said you’re completely wasted.”

At her words, I could only stare blankly.

It was a term I hadn’t heard in a long time.

“I-I was being a nuisance?”

Since becoming this body, I hadn’t really touched alcohol, but back in Thebes, I had never lost a drinking contest. So, naturally, it was shocking.

After all, hadn’t I not actually drunk anything right now?

While I was flustered, Ayla, having composed herself at some point, spoke up.

“What a surprise. Generally, using it for such a short time doesn’t cause this level of side effects…”

And she quickly added,

“Additionally, the longer the artifact’s effect is active, the greater the corresponding demerit. It seems Baek Eun Ha will be in a drunken state for as long as the time used.”

It was indeed a bewildering side effect. I felt a heat rising to my face and turned to ask Helena.

“…W-What did you see?”

“Maybe it would be better not to hear?”

Looking at Helena’s expression, I realized I must have done something embarrassing and slowly began to gather my magical power.

Hoo.

“I-I’ll erase the memory.”

“You won’t be able to with your current level.”

Indeed, with my current abilities, I couldn’t touch Helena’s memory. I trembled, calming my magic once more.

Snap!

Suddenly, Ayla clapped her hands and spoke to us.

“Well, now that we’ve confirmed the effect, shall we start to head out?”

Only then did I realize the forgotten fact: the real challenges had yet to begin.

#

Click.

Click click!

“Great! This is fantastic, but can you brighten your expression a bit more?”

“How?”

“Just imagine a happy moment in your head.”

At her words, I recalled the moment I first climbed onto the challenger stage and smiled brightly.

Then Ayla, very satisfied, brought out more outfits.

“This time, let’s go with a slightly more mature type. I’ll touch up your makeup.”

I walked over to the staff area, very reluctantly.

It had already been two hours, and there was no sign of it ending. I sighed and suddenly asked Ayla a thought that struck me.

“At this rate, won’t I have to spend the whole day in a drunken state afterward?”

At that, Ayla awkwardly smiled and avoided my gaze. I let out a deep sigh.

“…Let’s finish in three hours. Any more than that, I won’t do it no matter what.”

“Sure. That should be enough.”

After finishing the shoot, I left the studio completely drained.

Of course, the ring’s effect was still active, and as soon as I stopped using it, I’d plunge into drunkenness, so there was nothing I could do.

“Good job. I’m glad I asked you. I’m sure we’ll get some great shots.”

“……”

It was indeed a cumbersome process, but anyway, I had gotten what I wanted. It was fair trade for both of us.

‘The side effects are annoying, but the effect itself is much better than what I had before.’

Especially the fact that I could change the duration at will. Of course, the longer I used it, the longer the backlash would be, but it would be a considerable advantage in battles.

With Ayla and Brooks seeing me off, we returned to the Calliope Guild.

#

“Wow, what an eventful day. You were so nervous.”

After sending off Helena and Baek Eun Ha, Ayla returned to the top floor of the building and spoke to Brooks.

“Is it true that Helena’s power is that threatening?”

“No doubt about it. Her power has surely grown stronger than before.”

However, just before, Brooks had been observing not Helena but rather the opposite.

“You need to be particularly careful with the other person when you next meet.”

“Baek Eun Ha?”

“She is… not ordinary.”

At that statement, Ayla blinked in surprise. After all, anyone at a high rank is usually different from ordinary people.

However, Brooks shook his head firmly.

“That’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean then?”

“It’s not just about being strong.”

That was a considerably unusual evaluation. Since it was the first time Brooks had expressed himself this way, Ayla opened her eyes wide, waiting for him to continue.

“As you know, I have this eye.”

In a different world from Earth, the eye obtained by finding the legacy of a legendary being, the Dragon.

Brooks’s left eye elongated for a moment like a reptile before returning to its original form.

“Did something show up in that eye?”

“I saw a part of her soul.”

Amidst the tension that began to rise, Brooks continued, as if the scene he had witnessed was still vivid in his memory.

“There wasn’t just one.”

“There wasn’t just one?”

“It continuously changed shape while I observed and had countless forms.”

And then.

“Among them, there was the complete form of a dragon.”

“A dragon?”

Ayla couldn’t easily grasp what it meant.

Brooks answered in a slightly trembling voice.

“It could be one of two things.”

“……”

“Either she is a dragon herself, or…”

A presence never before seen that had already devoured the soul of a dragon.

At those words, Ayla gulped.

If that were all true and such a Baek Eun Ha was cooperating with Helena…

“The power structure of the top guilds in the United Kingdom will soon be greatly shaken.”

#

At the same time, in a secret government facility somewhere in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

In the innermost part of that place, a massive storm of magical energy erupted.

Boom.

“What is happening?”

“It seems to be in the room of the Prophet!”

There was an Awakened One referred to as the Prophet.

And it was classified so that no one other than specific individuals at the upper echelons of the U.S. knew it.

There was no good reason to reveal to other countries that the U.S. had the power to glimpse the fragments of the future.

Clank!

“Are you alright?”

“……”

Inside the wide-open door stood a silver-haired woman. She slowly opened her closed eyes and spoke softly.

“I have witnessed several scenes.”

“W-What kind?”

The man hurriedly took out a notebook and pen, listening attentively to her words.

Whatever came out of her mouth would certainly be of utmost importance.

“An existence that should not exist is about to appear.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. I just know it felt very ominous and unsettling.”

Tap.
Tap.

While the man desperately took notes, the woman took a moment to sort her memories and began to speak again.

“S Rank dungeons will emerge. I was able to determine the time. Approximately six months from now. I don’t know the location.”

“My goodness, S Rank…”

“Next, in a separate incident, Oliver, an A Rank hunter from the U.S., and Austin, an S Rank hunter, will be murdered. I cannot determine the time. However, I saw the eyes of their assailant.”

“W-What do you mean by eyes?”

After a brief silence, the woman continued, her hands shaking slightly.

“…They were the eyes of the dead, full of rage and resentment.”

That trembling was so vivid that the man swallowed hard, jotting down the information with shaking hands.

Seeing him, the woman added.

“Despite killing two people, that rage hasn’t subsided.”

“……”

“The probability that it won’t stop at those two is very high.”

“W-What does that mean…?”

“Yes. Just as you think.”

If they fail to stop whoever this is…

“The U.S. might suffer irreversible damage.”

#

Meanwhile, in the Calliope Guild’s 10th floor, which Helena was using as her hideout.

“…So, what exactly happened?”

“There were side effects from the artifact. I think it will last until tonight.”

“D-Don’t abandon me! I’ll do better…”

“Ugh. I get it, so just calm down!”

Song Ha Yeon, who had returned to the guild with me, was flustered as she saw Baek Eun Ha clinging to her with teary eyes.