The Necromancer Who Was Despised

“Now that I think about it, my sister is right. I was so out of my mind that I ran towards the forest. The sun was setting that way… Yeah, I think this direction is right. I probably didn’t go this deep, though.”

‘She remembered.’

Well, since the cave I was aiming for was included in the recon range, this was the right way.

“Maybe the cave you mentioned is somewhere nearby.”

Tia said with a wry smile.

“Then let’s avoid it as much as possible. It won’t be good if unnie gets cursed too.”

“Well, it should be fine since we have Inha? “She won’t be alone.”

I thought it was a good time, so I joined the two’s conversation.

“It’s around here.”

“I tracked the traces of the curse during the process of cursing Tia.”

I had never told the party about being able to find the location of the cave and the identity of the curse.

I just knew it to myself.

There was no particular good reason to tell them right away, and even if they knew, there was nothing we could do at the time.

‘I didn’t have the timing to talk either.’

Things like capturing the orc due to Kuman’s request and recruiting new colleagues happened one after another.

Since this story came out as a wildfire, I thought now would be a good time to talk.

“I’m going to find and raid that cave.”

“Why? Is there a need to?”

“There’s a high chance it will help me. If I get stronger, you know? It’s not just good for me.”

I can cure Tia’s curse faster and safer, and at the same time, there’s a chance to fix Kayla’s foot.

When they heard my explanation, Athena and Kayla’s eyes lit up.

In particular, Kayla’s gaze became intense.

Even at her current level, Tia was confident that she would be cured, albeit it would take some time, so it was natural for Kayla to be more impatient than Athena.

I omitted the possibility of curing Tia’s illness at once.

There was no need to raise false expectations. It would be enough to be happy when the moment actually comes.

“Of course, I don’t plan on going alone. If I go, I plan on taking Athena and Kayla with me.”

“What about me?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to exclude you? Since it’s the space where you were cursed, it would be better to avoid approaching it.”

“I’m anxious about being alone… .”

“Going inside the cave could be more dangerous. So what if… .”

I glanced at Athena and spoke.

“You have no choice but to step out.”

Knowing that the skeletons were stronger than I thought, I had calculated that Athena could be replaced if she stepped out.

“… Hmm… .”

She seemed anxious about leaving Tia alone, but she was also anxious about sending only me and Kayla to a dangerous place.

“You don’t have to worry that much. If it’s too much, you can just back out.”

“… Then I’ll stay and protect Tia.”

She gave me a sorry expression and thanked me.

She knows too. How much consideration I have for her.

She’s also a body that I’m attached to, but since I received this favor, she’ll work harder for me in the future.

“I’ll make sure to use you for scouting.”

“Then today is a day of rest. To secure time to raid the cave, we need to process the request as quickly and perfectly as possible. “You know?”

“I understand. “I’ll really work like a dog.”

Athena replied again with a serious expression.

“That’s a good mindset. “I’ll wake you up tomorrow, so get some rest.”

Since there was a boundary stone, there was no need to keep watch.

Of course, if it were a human, it would be necessary, but there were no monsters around here that could deceive the boundary stone and enter, so there was no big problem.

Athena and Tia entered the same tent, and Kyle and I entered another.

It couldn’t be helped. There were only two tents enchanted with temperature-regulating magic, and it was too cramped for three people to use one tent, so it turned out this way.

There was nothing I could do about the limited number of artifacts.

That said, it was a matter of conditioning if I were to just abandon what I had and stayed in a normal tent, and the forest nights were not that warm.

“Then, get some rest, Master.”

Of course, there was nothing special to do.

I had already camped out a few times on the way here, and in the process, I had shared a tent, but nothing had ever happened.

Therefore, Kyle did not particularly guard against me in that way.

‘Does she trust me or does it not matter to her?’

Whatever. Since I had already said what I said before, I rested without touching her at all.

I woke up before dawn and woke Athena.

After eating our rations, we immediately went out on patrol.

We had already checked the surroundings of the base camp in advance, so we thoroughly searched a wider area and carefully recorded what we found in the process.

“… It’s there too. Hmm, was there a battle?”

I didn’t know about the battle, but Athena followed me well in terms of reconnaissance, so my workload was reduced.

Her words about working like a dog were not false. Athena didn’t complain once even though I made her work almost without a break.

Of course, even the complaints she usually made were just words, so she did everything I told her to do, so it was nothing strange.

‘The village chief is right. The number of individuals has definitely increased.’

As the number of individuals increased, the competition among the monsters seemed to have intensified quite a bit.

We spent our time faithfully fulfilling the request, patrolling for about ten days and resting at the base camp, when Athena spoke.

“But… Don’t you think there are a lot of them that seem to have come here recently? Unlike the goblins we subjugated, most of their dwellings seem to have been newly built.”

“No, have they expanded? Strangely enough, when I look at the traces, it feels like most of them are being pushed out of their territory little by little. Am I mistaken?”

I didn’t answer Athena’s question.

‘Has this… already started?’

The prelude to the monster wave.

I could faintly feel such an atmosphere.

I knew this wasn’t strange.

If something happens, there must be a reason why it happened.

There was nothing strange about there being a prelude to the monster wave when it happened.

‘Since many of the pioneering territories collapsed, it wouldn’t be strange even if it were like this at this point.’

No, rather, it could be considered reasonable that there was already a prelude.

However, this was a prelude that I could only recognize because I had regressed. Originally, it would have been difficult to notice even if I saw it.

“Did the monsters increase so much that the predators came down?”

Athena seemed to guess that the number of prey had increased, so the predators had expanded their territory.

“…Maybe. I should make a separate note of this.”

I had no intention of refuting the possibility of a monster wave here.

More than anything.

‘If it happens, it will help me, so there’s no need to let anyone know.’

Just tell me what you see. Don’t give me your opinions.

The story would then naturally progress from the previous episode.

‘I’m still not good enough to change the main story, let alone the side stories.’

Some might disapprove of my actions.

Of course. Many people would die from the monster wave anyway, so some would definitely think that it’s a human’s duty to struggle to save as many people as possible.

Especially for those who lived on Earth, in Korea.

But I’m different.

My own survival and freedom are more important than the lives of others.

So I didn’t express my opinion until the end.

The investigation continued even after the abnormal situation was discovered.

As Athena said, a predator might have descended.

But the consequences would be huge.

Athena grew as she gained more experience in investigation, and the investigation speed gradually increased.

So, when about a week of the request period remained, we were able to explore the entire investigation area requested by the lord.

“Is this the last one?”

I nodded briefly at Athena’s words.

“In the end, we couldn’t find the cause.”

“There’s no need to go deeper and risk ourselves.”

We didn’t need to push ourselves, as we were a small group and Tia was a weakness.

“Then are you going to that creepy cave tomorrow?”

Creepy cave.

That was where Tia was cursed.

As it was within the investigation area, Athena saw the entrance.

‘The first thing she said when she saw it was, “creepy.”‘

She said it was ominous.

It was a natural reaction.

‘Because magic power was faintly leaking out.’

The artifact must have weakened because magic power had been leaking out for so long.

“I really want to tell you not to go, but you’ll go anyway, won’t you?”

“Of course. I’ve learned a lot about tracing curses. There’s something there that can help me. Definitely.”

I didn’t want to give up when I knew there was a chance.

Athena, who had been biting her lips for a while, finally closed her mouth.

“Let’s go back for now. Kayle and Tia will be waiting.”

Since I had told them that the investigation would end today, they were probably finishing off the remaining food.

As expected, as soon as we arrived at the base camp, we could see the usual amount of prepared food.

“You’ve cooked a lot.”

“Hehe. You’ve worked hard. You’re going to go back after searching the cave, so why leave the food?”

That’s true. Except for the amount we would eat on the way back, we had already run out of the food we brought.

As planned, Athena and I hunted and gathered to supplement the food we lacked during the investigation.

“But I’ve left enough food for two days, so don’t worry and eat.”

Tia handed me the dish she had brought from home, filled with her own cooking, and said playfully,

Is it because we’ve been through dangerous situations outside together for about three weeks? Tia was definitely comfortable with me.

‘Seon seems to be strictly guarded.’

It was as if she was saying that she would never make a mistake while being comfortable.

“You’ve worked hard too, unnie.”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

As she had safely completed the difficult request, Athena’s expression was quite relaxed.

She had given up the break she would have had once or twice, and had been working like crazy on the reconnaissance, so she must have been satisfied with herself for completing the request so quickly.

In contrast, Kyla was eating the food Tia had given her with a firm expression, as if she was just getting started.

She had ended up staying at the base camp for the duration by giving up her break for Athena, and had not done much besides escorting Tia and completing the base camp, which had been lacking.

‘It was to the extent that her daily routine was almost the same as when she was at home.’

We had dinner in a slightly improved atmosphere, and after dinner, Kyla asked me.

“Master. Is there anything I need to prepare before going to the cave?”

“Nothing in particular. Just go.”

I was a black magician, and the problem was the monsters inside, but from what Tia had said, there were no unified monsters, so there was nothing big to prepare for.

“Since we finished the request early, let’s finish it quickly and go home. Don’t you get tired of living here?”

“…Well, it’s more uncomfortable than home. Thanks to Teacher and Tia, it’s better than when it was first built.”

“I like home better too.”

The sisters said it as if it was obvious, and Kyla agreed in agreement.

“Then let’s go early tomorrow. Let’s finish it within a day.”

“I understand. Then I’ll go to bed early today.”

“Hmm, I can’t help it. Tia, let’s go to bed early too. We have to see them off.”

“Okay, unnie. Kyla unnie and Inha, have a good night’s sleep.”

We usually went to bed early, but today was earlier than usual.

Instead, Kyla and I were able to leave for the cave before sunrise.

“I’ll be back today, but if things go wrong, I might come the next day. Don’t come looking for me even if I’m late.”

I told her that if I was really late, she could just go home.

“I don’t like that.”

Tia said firmly that she couldn’t just abandon us.

‘That’s how it could sound.’

I had just said that because I thought there might be a delay if the situation with the lich’s artifact was difficult to handle, but thinking about it, it was a statement that could be easily misunderstood.

“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure the master comes back.”

‘I shouldn’t have said anything.’

It had become an unnecessarily serious situation.