NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Assault on Necropolis (1)
What kind of world is this?
The moment I woke up, my entire body ached as if it had been torn to pieces!
“Ugh, I’m dying here…”
This weak body of mine… The pain was so intense, I could barely speak.
Is it normal to be wracked with this much pain just because I pushed myself a little last night?
“Bless, Painkiller… Ugh…”
Even using holy magic didn’t completely alleviate the situation. What’s going on? Could I have built up some kind of resistance to holy magic…?
Ah, that’s right—I drank an elixir yesterday.
I remembered the stamina elixir Rania had given me before I went to the Grand Temple.
Elixirs are generally beneficial, but once the effects wear off, they can place a strain on the body, especially for someone like me, who’s weak and lacks basic stamina.
So, it looked like I’d be bedridden for the entire morning.
At least Rania’s elixirs are top-tier, so this will only last a short while. If it had been one of the low-grade elixirs sold in the market, I’d be suffering from muscle pain and fatigue for an entire day.
But still…
Last night was well worth the pain.
The secrets hidden in the underground route of the Grand Temple, the four powerful priests I gained, and even the mana crystal I obtained.
Not to mention confirming important information from the temple’s secret library. It was truly a night of 1 hit 3 kills—a meaningful victory in every way.
– “The Lord of the Undead is an immortal being, passed down through generations. It possesses the ‘Eye of Appraisal,’ which can see through the abilities of all living beings.”
– “This power is the power of a king, and the ultimate authority that can place the wielder above all others.”
– “Therefore, dear reader, I implore you to defeat the Lord of the Undead and inherit this power. The Eye of Appraisal should be used for the living, not the dead.”
This was what I found on the last page of the book I discreetly pulled from the tenth shelf last night.
The book was titled The Lord of the Undead, and the further I read, the stranger it got. It ended by raving about how incredible the Lord of the Undead’s Eye of Appraisal was.
But why was this book so important?
It all started in my third regression.
At that time, I had just survived the first wave.
But the second wave that followed was so overwhelming that I realized the current approach wasn’t going to cut it.
Was it even possible to fend this off using just the Empire’s strength?
As I pondered this, I came up with a new strategy: the “Undead Alliance Route.”
1. First, infiltrate Necropolis, the base of the undead army, using stealth, and gather as much information as possible to gain favor with the Lord of the Undead.
2. Once I had gathered enough information, I would reveal myself to the Lord of the Undead and negotiate.
Initially, my plan was to ally with the undead army and use them in the war against the Otherworld.
But then I ran into a problem: the Lord of the Undead, Krok.
When Krok saw my face, he made a surprising counteroffer.
3. It turned out that I, Prince Claude, was an incredibly talented necromancer, brimming with untapped potential.
4. Krok, recognizing my talent, offered to teach me necromancy personally.
5. If I could grow strong enough to earn the title of “Master of the Undead,” Krok would agree to join forces with me in the war against the Otherworld.
So, a new route had opened up that I hadn’t expected. I accepted his offer on the spot and allied myself with the undead army.
Within five years, I became Krok’s disciple and reached the highest level of necromancy.
But even though I became the greatest necromancer, the Empire refused to accept me.
The temple, in particular, went to great lengths to erase me. They began openly sending priests after me from dawn until dusk, and eventually hired assassins to harass me day and night.
Because of this, I failed to strengthen the other forces, and not only did I fail to stop the second wave, but I couldn’t even fend off the first wave before my third regression came to an end.
So, in my subsequent regressions, I completely abandoned the “Undead Alliance Route.”
The problem is that unless you ally with the undead army, they will inevitably join the anti-Empire faction during the mid-game “Anti-Empire War.”
It would be best to decapitate the leaders ahead of time using assassins or other means, but…
That doesn’t work either.
Leaders like the Lord of the Undead or high-ranking figures like liches are practically immortal, resurrecting even after they’re killed by conventional methods.
So, I began searching for a way to destroy them completely. But finding information about the undead army wasn’t easy. And that’s because…
1. Information about the undead army is strictly controlled by the temple (to prevent humans from becoming tempted by necromancy).
2. The temple has gathered all the books about the Lord of the Undead and hidden them from the world.
The best I could find in the empire’s libraries was the mention of an ancient holy spell called Turn Undead, a miracle-level divine spell capable of obliterating all undead in a single strike. It was said that this spell hadn’t been passed down for centuries.
I also learned about a priest named Entum, who fought against the Lord of the Undead centuries ago.
Though he lost the battle, he didn’t die right away. He survived for a few days and recorded valuable information about the Lord of the Undead in a book.
3. So, the only way to access that information was to improve my relationship with the temple and get my hands on Entum’s book or detailed instructions on Turn Undead.
And thus, the “Grand Temple’s Underground Route” tech tree began.
I had already confirmed through stealth that there was a hidden chamber beneath the Grand Temple.
During my third regression, I even broke into it by force, only to trigger an explosion that destroyed the entire library in a blazing inferno.
Anyway, by the end of my fourth regression, I had finally raised my relationship with the temple to the highest level.
This granted me access to the secret library, along with permission to read just one book.
I debated whether to choose the book containing information about the Lord of the Undead or the one about Turn Undead.
In the end, I chose the book that could potentially allow me to completely destroy the Lord of the Undead.
That marked the beginning of my training to master Turn Undead.
It wasn’t until the end of my ninth regression that I finally perfected the spell.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
In my ninth regression, I squeezed out some extra time to return to the underground route and read Entum’s The Lord of the Undead.
But instead of revealing any weaknesses, the book was filled with pages upon pages about the Eye of Appraisal.
The Eye of Appraisal: a power that allows its wielder to perceive not only the current abilities of anyone before them but also their hidden potential.
It sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
But after experiencing so many regressions, I found its effect a bit redundant.
After countless trial-and-error scenarios, I had already seen firsthand the abilities of most people who would become significant players.
Sure, having it would have been great during my first regression, but now that I’m in my final one, it’s less useful.
That said, it wouldn’t hurt to have it. That’s why I pushed back my plans to invade the undead army’s stronghold and wipe them out.
I figured I could delay the operation for about 3 to 5 years.
I just needed to finish it before the Anti-Empire War broke out six years from now.
But last night’s experience changed everything.
“Your Highness, I heard you cough. Pardon me, but I’m coming in.”
At that moment, Rania knocked and entered, carrying a wash basin. I buried my face in the hot towel she handed me and sighed deeply.
“Whew… Thanks, Rania.”
“Not at all, Your Highness. If you don’t mind, may I help you clean the rest of your body?”
“It’s fine. I’ll manage. But…”
I wiped my upper body haphazardly with the towel as I spoke.
“That elixir last night was effective. You made it yourself, right?”
“Yes, Your Highness. It’s a small setup, but we have a workshop in the mansion’s basement for making elixirs.”
“I’ll have to come check it out sometime. How many elixirs can you make in a day?”
Even though I already knew the answer, I had to play along and ask. After thinking for a moment, Rania replied.
“It depends on the type of elixir. For stamina elixirs, about fifteen bottles a day, give or take. It also depends on the concentration of ingredients and how much effort I put into each one.”
“And if you put more effort into making them, the effect improves?”
“Of course. The elixirs I gave you last night were made with utmost care. I could probably only make five of that quality in a day.”
“I see. If you raise the quality, does the storage life also increase?”
Normally, elixirs start losing potency after about five months.
However, if an elixir is made by a master with the highest level of concentration, it can last for more than ten years. Rania seemed surprised by the question
and hesitated before answering.
“Yes, typically. But I’ve never tested the maximum storage life. I’d imagine they’d last at least ten years if I made them.”
“Could you make me one Flame Resistance Elixir a day, with a storage life of over ten years?”
“Flame Resistance Elixir, Your Highness?”
Rania looked puzzled for a moment before hurriedly bowing her head.
“I will follow your orders, but it will be difficult to make more than one per day. I’m already busy making your Growth Elixirs and Detoxification Elixirs…”
“One a day is more than enough. You can skip a day if something urgent comes up.”
This was one of my long-term strategies for the upcoming war against the Otherworld. One of the biggest threats during the early waves was the flame-spewing creatures.
“Understood. But the ingredients for the Flame Resistance Elixir are…”
“What’s the problem?”
Rania quickly shook her head, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what was wrong.
“The palace hasn’t been sending any funds recently, has it?”
“…Excuse me?”
Rania froze as if I had hit the nail on the head.
“Well, actually… The funds from the palace were cut off about six months ago.”
“How much were we getting before?”
“About 80 gold coins per month.”
“So how are we maintaining the mansion? How do we pay the maids, buy ingredients for the elixirs, and cover my living expenses?”
“We’ve been relying on the funds left by the Lunembreth family. Many of the maids are also alchemists, so we’ve been selling elixirs wholesale to make extra money.”
“Cut ties with them immediately.”
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