The Necromancer Who Was Despised

Before long, I began to feel the familiar energy.

‘Mana…’

A mystical power that allows one to transcend human limitations.

But I wasn’t very close to it.

‘I’m not unloved.’

But my limits were clear.

There was another power that suited me better.

To have that power, I needed mana.

Using the mana breathing technique I used long ago, I accumulate some mana in my body.

Normally, this would be an absurd speed.

Just by concentrating a little, I can sense mana and accumulate it in my body, albeit in very small amounts?

If I told anyone in this world this story, they would tell me to stop talking nonsense.

But to me, a second-timer, it was natural.

‘It’s a familiar feeling.’

Even in my first life, it didn’t take long to sense mana.

Now that I’m in my second life, it had to be faster than before.

‘After all, it’s a breathing technique I once practiced.’

I stop mana breathing as soon as I have accumulated a minimal amount of power.

“Phew…”

It wasn’t over yet.

After cutting my fingertip, I began to draw a magic circle on the floor with my blood.

‘It’s cramped.’

Nenson had given me the largest room he had, so I was able to draw the magic circle, but only just.

“……”

Silently, I step into the center of the completed magic circle.

‘If an imperial priest saw this, they would have crushed my head in an instant.’

They utterly detest black magic.

But my talent lay in this.

Taking a deep breath once more, I start drawing out my mana.

The most important moment.

The magic circle reacted to my mana and slowly began to connect to another dimension.

Whoa.

The magic circle reacted and started to emit crimson light.

The identity of the magic circle was simple.

A contract circle.

The minimum preparation for warlocks to make a contract with the demons of the Demon Realm.

However, no warlock would try to make a contract with just a magic circle drawn like this.

‘Without an offering or a sacrifice, trying to make a contract with just a contract circle like this will most likely fail.’

Failure of the contract. A fatal backlash would be inflicted on the warlock.

But I am different.

The contract circle starts to glow.

But as expected, there was no sign of connecting with anyone.

It connected to the Demon Realm, but that was it.

Originally, the space should have closed like this and I should have suffered a great backlash.

But that didn’t happen.

“Success… “I guess.”

I muttered quietly.

My chest started to feel hot as if it was on fire.

When I slightly lowered my clothes, I could see a familiar pattern engraved on my chest.

The seal of the contract.

I didn’t make a contract with anyone.

Moreover, I didn’t pay any price.

Nevertheless, the mark of the contract was engraved on my chest.

Seeing me like this, the teacher and the Demon King said this.

– The one who received the blessing of the Demon Realm.

That was the identity of my talent.

I remember that even the Demon King was shocked, saying that it was unprecedented for a human, not a demon, to receive the blessing of the Demon Realm.

I don’t know if it’s because I was a dimensional traveler, or if it’s because my birth was close to the Demon Realm.

I was on the same wavelength as the Demon Realm, and I could naturally receive their favor.

I was a human but close to the demons, and I was born with the talent to handle magic like the demons with a human body.

‘To be exact, I’m just connected to the Demon Realm.’

It is possible to handle magic without this seal.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that being connected to the Demon Realm is nothing special. Because that’s what I need the most right now.

There are very few places in this world where you can get magic.

‘But if I have this, it’s different.’

Magic naturally flows out from the seal of the contract.

As long as I have this seal, I can receive as much magic as I need, anytime, anywhere.

It would be a meaningless ability in the Demon Realm, but in this world, it was nothing short of a privilege.

My body began to absorb the magic flowing from the seal as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The small amount of mana I had accumulated began to dissipate rapidly, swept away by the torrent of magic.

Throb, throb.

My body, which had received the magic, was changing rapidly.

I felt pain, but I didn’t let out a groan.

Of course not.

I couldn’t show the figure in this room.

Still, it was bearable pain.

It was only after a long time that the pain in my body subsided.

“Whew, whew….”

My appearance hadn’t changed much.

However, the inside of my body had changed a lot.

My body, which had received the magic, had evolved significantly and become more efficient, and I could feel that my physical abilities had also increased somewhat.

‘In my previous life, my body was bound to the Demon King, but in this life, I will never be treated like that again.’

Although my body received the favor of the Demon Realm, it did not mean that I could not make contracts with other demons.

In fact, if I had the ability, it was possible to make contracts with several demons.

However, in the last round, I had only two seals.

One of them was just a blessing of magic and something given to me by the Demon Realm, so the only demon I actually contracted with was the Demon King.

Because of my constitution, the Demon Kings who learned of my existence all coveted my body.

The ultimate incarnation.

In order for a Demon King to descend to the Middle Realm, a lot of preparation is necessary.

There were extremely rare cases where they descended directly with their own bodies, but it was a very dangerous thing to do, and most Demon Kings made separate incarnation bodies through contractors in order to descend to the Middle Realm.

However, it’s not an easy task. To be honest, the performance wasn’t that great either.

The existence of the Demon King itself is so great that an ordinary incarnation body wouldn’t catch their eye.

My body, which could use magic directly, could hold more of the Demon King’s power depending on the level of growth, and it was said that there was a low possibility that it could hold all of the Demon King’s power.

Among the incarnation bodies of the former Demon Kings, none were superior to my body, which is why many Demon Kings coveted my body.

‘And the black magicians joined in.’

My existence, which could draw magic at any time in addition to being the incarnation of the Demon King, would have been a very useful tool from their point of view.

‘In the end, I couldn’t escape from the Demon King who contracted with my teacher.’

Although my soul was subservient to the Demon King, what those who coveted me wanted was my body, so my soul didn’t matter.

The Demon King who contracted with me tried to raise me as much as possible, and my teacher educated me like that.

‘In the end, both my teacher and I died, and the Demon King didn’t even try to descend.’

Since I had already experienced such things, I had absolutely no intention of making a contract with another demon.

To begin with, as long as I had the favor of the Demon Realm, I could bring in as much magic as I wanted, and I was confident that I could gain great power even without making a contract with another demon.

‘For now, I’ve secured the minimum power.’

Minimum force to secure my status.

In addition to that….

‘With this level of force, it’s enough to operate initially.’

Even if I knew a lot of information because I had experienced the future once, I couldn’t use it properly without power.

I acquired power for that, and now I was confident that I could use it sufficiently.

‘Though it’s still feeble, I don’t need such a formidable force yet.’

Even if I were to give it my all at my current level, I’d only be able to defeat a low-ranking mercenary at best, and I couldn’t use any magic.

‘It’s not that I can’t use magic at all, but…’

It’s black magic, and it requires a lot of preparation and unconventional methods, so its practicality is extremely low.

‘If I just had the equipment, I could probably handle even an intermediate mercenary.’

That’s thanks to the experience I gained last time.

At the same time, that was my limit with my current body.

Honestly, I’m beyond grateful for this much.

In my previous life, it took me almost two years to reach the strength of an intermediate mercenary.

I’ve shortened that time by two years, even though all I’ve done is briefly deceive one of my enemies, the Hunter, and buy myself some time.

Of course, I lack equipment right now, but it’ll be in my hands before long.

‘Then should I just continue securing my identity?’

The reason why I need at least a minimal amount of strength to secure my identity.

It was simple.

The answer was the Hunter, Nenson.

I quickly began tidying up the room.

As I erased as much of the contract written in my blood as I could, I began to sense Nenson’s presence approaching.

He seemed to hesitate for a while outside the door before knocking cautiously.

“What is it?”

“F, food is ready. If, perhaps, you have no need of it….”

“Bring it in.”

It seemed that my words telling him to get lost had gotten to him after all.

‘This is a good opportunity.’

Before long, Nenson cautiously entered with the food.

“I, it is not much.”

It was just as he said.

Even though his profession was as a hunter, so the menu included meat, compared to the food that actual nobles ate, this was nothing more than garbage.

I naturally frowned, and at the sight of my expression, Nenson’s face grew increasingly anxious.

“How can you call this food….”

“I, I apologize. This is such a backward place….”

I picked up a knife and cut off a piece of the meat he had brought, putting it in my mouth.

‘It’s better than I thought….’

He certainly put some effort into it.

However, of course, I had no intention of praising him.

I deliberately kept my face stern and beckoned him over.

The Hunter shakily approached me on his knees.

“Was this really the best you could do?”

“I, I apologize….”

“Raise your head.”

At my words, the Hunter raised his head with eyes full of fear.

Huff.

“Wha…?”

The hunter’s hand fumbles at his throat.

A momentary surprise.

The expression on his face says he never imagined he’d get a knife in his throat just because the food was bad.

Injustice clouds his face, and then he slowly falls backward.

A life disappears with ridiculous ease.

If he had been a trained knight capable of using mana, he might have reacted.

But this was an attack that a mere hunter from a remote territory like him had no chance of reacting to.

Even so, I had raised my physical abilities by acquiring magic, just in case.

The hunter’s death was inevitable.