The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“I plan on making it to the point of near death and casting charm magic. If I fail, I’ll kill it, and if I succeed, I’ll bring it.”

“Ah… Is that how you do it? It seems you are not a professional monster hunter.”

“I had many things to do instead of spending time doing that.”

It was obvious that what I had to do was related to dark magic. Furthermore, since I was a necromancer, Serbiso shut his mouth.

“Then I will consider the request accepted.

“I have sent a carriage to Amaze Village, so you can ride that.”

‘… Are they even doing this?’

It was trivial, but I could definitely feel that I was being treated well.

This world definitely treats you well if you have power.

Of course, we are not your average advanced mercenaries and we even have Kayla, an advanced expert, in our group, so they might have had higher expectations.

Even considering that, the fact that you are treated well if you have power is the same.

Dark magicians are the same. They are so shunned, despised, and cursed at, but if you have power, there is a way to rise to the top as an officially recognized dark magician, to the point where the guild will give you opportunities like this.

Of course, the Holy Empire and the kingdoms under it are exceptions.

“Here is the request.”

It had the contents of the request and also the special agreement I was told about (the sale of corpses, the amount for the sale when captured), and the guild’s seal was also stamped properly.

I signed there and took the request.

“Then, good luck.”

“Thank you for your patronage.”

After exchanging light greetings with Serbiso, I went outside with the group.

“The attitudes of the guild staff and the normal mercenaries are surprisingly different.”

“From the guild’s perspective, it is beneficial if we become affiliated with them. They don’t intervene excessively, but they tend to show favoritism.”

“Hmm… Is it because of Master?”

“You, Balder, and me too. Guild branches sometimes compete with branches in neighboring territories.”

“…Aren’t all mercenary guild branches the same?”

“No. Branch status varies depending on the size of the branch, the number and quality of mercenaries it holds.”

Therefore, the guild branch manager always desires excellent mercenaries.

They don’t care much about lower-ranked mercenaries because there are many of them and they will naturally come when the branch expands and receives more requests, but they are very concerned about high-ranking mercenaries.

Perhaps they will call me after I complete a few requests.

‘If I weren’t a black magician, they would have invited me long ago.’

Even if I wanted to belong to a place like Kailana Atina, or at least Balder, they would have welcomed me long ago.

The penalty for being a black magician was enough to make even the guild branch managers hesitate.

“There are even cases where branches in other territories set up temporary branches in other territories to check on their opponents and recruit mercenaries.”

It is very rare, but there have been cases where branches have been completely absorbed in this way.

“In a sense, it’s a small territorial war.”

“Territorial war?”

“Well. The branch manager of the mercenary guild is bound to be very close to the lord of the territory.”

Atina looked a little surprised at my words.

Troll

Of course, it is natural.

As for the Owaran Barony, which was a pioneering territory, there was virtually no regular army, and the territory’s defense was handled by vigilantes and hired mercenaries.

There was only one knight under his command, and the number of squires a knight could have was fixed.

The cost of maintaining a standing army was a huge burden on the territory’s finances, so most of the territory’s defense had to rely on mercenaries, unless they were very wealthy or top-ranking nobles.

It’s not for nothing that the military is called a money-eating monster. There is a saying that war is done with money.

A wise lord would choose mercenaries instead of an army and use the remaining money to promote the development of the territory, while a greedy lord would choose money instead of an army and make his life more luxurious.

Either way, hiring mercenaries was much more satisfying than creating and maintaining an army, and that’s how the world has evolved.

The mercenary guild selected and guaranteed reliable mercenaries to meet the demands of the nobles, and the nobles hired those who suited their circumstances and situations from among those selected.

It was very rare for mercenaries hired in this way to betray them.

Once hired, they were paid a considerable sum, and if they successfully completed the request, it could be a stepping stone to receiving a larger request in the future.

In addition, once they were hired by a noble, they could not bear the aftermath if they betrayed them.

This system was maintained, and the mercenary system was so reliable that it continued to develop.

As such, a close relationship was bound to form between the mercenary guild branch manager, who guaranteed the credibility of the mercenaries and could reliably supply them, and the owner of the territory where the branch was located.

It is not for nothing that taking over the mercenary guild branch of another territory is called a small territorial war.

If the mercenary guild is taken over, a large part of the territory’s military power will collapse, suggesting that the other territory that took over the guild could invade the territory at any time if it only acquired the right to do so.

At the point where the majority of mercenaries are secured, victory is a foregone conclusion, unless the knight’s strength is very different.

‘And if the opponent is weak, you can somehow create a pretext.’

Kayla said it too. The back of a noble is made of copper.

Although they value honor on the surface, the foundation of this world is the law of the jungle.

This is a world where the excuses of the weak can be suppressed somehow.

In fact, she was only a knight on the surface, but she was one of the shadows active in the underworld, so no more words were needed.

“I see….”

After hearing my explanation, Atina nodded as if it were strange.

Apart from the fact that she is a genius, Atina is from the frontier, and even worse than a pioneering territory, she is from a slash-and-burn farmer.

It was inevitable that I wouldn’t know these things.

“But doesn’t Obalan Barony have a mercenary guild?”

“They usually don’t establish branches in such small and dangerous pioneering territories.”

It’s both dangerous and worthless.

Not just anyone can become a branch manager. It’s not easy, especially when it comes to bearing the name of the mercenary guild.

Mercenary guild branches aren’t established in territories that don’t meet certain criteria.

Obalan Barony was far from meeting those criteria, and it would be difficult to even establish a temporary branch.

After explaining this briefly, I added,

“And even if Obalan Barony grows and meets those criteria… they probably would have only established a temporary branch, not a full one.”

“Why? You said that a branch can be established if the criteria are met?”

“Like I said, the mercenary guild can’t help but be closely related to the lord of the territory. I even said that the process of taking control of a branch is like a small territorial war?”

“Then, what would be the best way for a superior noble to deal with inferior nobles? Just don’t give them the power to rebel?”

“…Then Siglen would….”

“Yes. They would have created a temporary branch from the Siglen branch of the mercenary guild.”

It wouldn’t be a bad thing for the Siglen branch manager either. After all, it’s like increasing their own power.

If Siglen becomes powerful, the branch that is closely related to them can’t help but become powerful as well.

That’s why even though the mercenary guild claims to be neutral, the branch managers in each region are usually no different from vassals of the local lords.

“It’s complicated….”

Just the military, excluding knightly forces or standing armies, is already like this when it comes to mercenary guilds.

Aside from that, nobles had many other weapons.

‘You could say that factions are a combination of connections and bloodlines, economic power is necessary for hiring mercenaries and developing territories, and in some cases they even have close ties with foreign countries, so diplomatic ability is also one of a noble’s weapons.’

Honor and reputation are also their weapons.

It’s hard for me to have such things.

It’s impossible to become a noble in a single generation unless there’s some kind of chaos, and even if you do become a noble, you won’t be properly recognized.

It might be possible if you’re just a temporary pawn, but you’ll never be able to reach the core of a faction.

It might be possible to have superficial relationships, but when it comes to deep connections or the most important thing, marriage connections, it’s absolutely impossible unless you’re at least a lower noble. Even if you have a lot of economic power, there’s a limit to what money can do, and diplomacy is out of the question.

Even in foreign countries, there are few who would try to properly establish relationships with a newly risen noble.

With so many long-established and proven families around, there’s a limit to what I can give and take with them.

Without these powers, even if I were to become a noble, honor and reputation would only become shackles that bind me.

That’s why the only ‘power’ I can have is my own personal strength, which is why I’m trying to grow as much as I can as a dark mage.

While having this conversation, I found the carriage that had been sent from Nolmeri Village, showed the coachman the request form, and was able to arrive at Nolmeri Village comfortably in the carriage.

The coachman was terrified when he found out that I was a dark mage, but with four high-ranking mercenaries and one of them being a high-ranking expert, he had no choice but to take us to the village.

The coachman led us to the village chief, who was the village’s representative, and the village chief also warned me about being a dark mage first thing.

“Since you have officially received the request, the mercenary guild will hold you accountable if you do anything reckless.”

“Don’t worry. So, where are our lodgings?”

“There’s a separate annex where hired mercenaries stay. It’s empty right now, so you can use that.”

It seemed that the previous mercenary group had withdrawn.

‘Well, it would be hard to stay here looking at the state of the village.’

Nolmeri Village was quite a large village.

In the past, Obalan Barony was a pioneering territory, but it had proper palisades and was large enough to tell that hundreds of people lived there, even at a glance.

Part of the village’s palisade had been damaged, and several buildings had clearly collapsed.

In that case, since they hadn’t been able to deal with the invading trolls, the request was effectively a failure.

On top of that, they’d probably been heavily damaged by the trolls… I wondered if the mercenary group wouldn’t end up disbanding.

‘It’s a world where there’s hardly any insurance after all.’

By the way, the Doriérem territory, where there were six cities of this size, still couldn’t compare to the great lords.

Earl Siglen, who we’d come from, was a powerful man with four castles.

Even though the Siglen Earldom was on the border, it was one of the truly great noble houses, with influence that extended even to the capital.

They didn’t have a magic tower and hippogryphs for nothing.

In contrast, Viscount Doriérem only had a single castle, and its size was different. Even if he was relatively well-known, he was still a far cry from a great lord.

‘I’ve heard he’s ambitious, though.’

As I entered the designated lodging while briefly pondering these things, Athina immediately began to complain.

“Here too, there too, dark mages, dark mages… Oh, dear. Suspicion is the default.”

She seemed to be displeased with how everyone was treating me with caution.

“I told you this would happen.”

“…I’d only heard stories, but my perception has changed a lot after actually meeting you.”

Kyla giggled at Athina’s apologetic words.

“My lord is special, you know? Once you meet other dark mages, you’ll come to think of them as not much different from him.”

“…Is it really that bad?”

“Imagine even worse than that.”

I didn’t refute Kyla’s words.

No, I couldn’t refute them. Because that was how it was in reality.

I’d been prepared for this ever since I chose the path of the dark mage.

‘Still, I have to accept it if I want to climb higher.’

It couldn’t be helped. This path was the only way for me to gain extraordinary power.

As I unpacked my things in the lodging, I felt a sense of distance.

I’d already forgotten about how the village chief had been wary of me.

He hadn’t cursed me or anything, he’d just given me a brief warning after learning that I was a dark mage. And yet I’d reacted to even that mild reaction. It would be impossible to live my daily life if I responded to everything like that.

When I was working in the Doriérem territory before, I’d never been able to use a place like this.

‘I usually used inns.’

Even then, I’d often had to sleep outside if I didn’t have enough money.

But now, even though I’d only accepted a request, I was being given all sorts of conveniences.

It really does pay to have power.

‘It was definitely a wise choice to hold out until reaching Class 4.’

After each of us had chosen a room and unpacked our things, we gathered in the living room for a brief meeting.

“First, the problem is finding them.”

It seemed that no one intended to wait around in the village.

That was only natural. After all, they were just trolls. This wasn’t like a monster wave, where monsters were swarming everywhere. We just had to go into the forest and hunt trolls.

Honestly, if there were no interruptions, Kyla could probably take on the trolls by herself.

“They said they were to the west, so let’s go there for now. They’re fairly large, so it shouldn’t be hard to find traces of them.”

“I’d like to know a little more about the distribution of monsters in the area. Do you think the village chief would tell us if we ask? After all, we are working for him.”

Athina spoke with a hint of doubt.

She seemed to be concerned about the village chief’s guarded attitude towards me.

“I’ll tell you what I know, but it might not be of much use.”

“The territorial battles around here are quite fierce.”

The territories of the monsters change frequently, and battles break out without warning.

This becomes more intense the further north you go, as there is a neutral zone up there.

‘The neutral zone used to be part of the Monster Forest.’

However, it became the battleground for the war between the Divine Empire and the Heterogeneous Union, resulting in the loss of a significant portion of the Monster Forest’s territory.

It is currently in a state of ceasefire, and the part that was once the Monster Forest’s territory became the current neutral zone, which is why the competition among monsters becomes fiercer the further north you go.

‘That’s why it’s affecting us here.’

Even though it’s been decades since the neutral zone was formed, its aftereffects are still being felt.

It’s not without reason that the dungeon owner we cleared was a 6-class, and if we hadn’t used the surprise element, it would have been a tough journey.

Therefore, it was nearly impossible to create a map of the Monster Forest like we did in the Ovalan Barony.

‘Even if we made one, all we would get is terrain information, and the monster-related information changes without warning.’

It would have to be redrawn every quarter at the shortest and every year at the longest, and there’s no way a single village would have the capacity for that.

It’s not without reason that we suffered this much damage because we couldn’t predict the attack of a single troll.

Athina asked, listening to my explanation.