The Necromancer Who Was Despised

‘I’ve dealt with the biggest obstacle.’

With the hunter dead, there was no one left to stop me.

I’ll finish off his family too.

I felt no guilt.

He was the one who had sold me as a slave in the past, and if I had shown any weakness in this life, he would have definitely sold me as a slave again.

When I think of his crimes, it’s a shame I killed him so easily.

But I’m too weak to use any other method.

Even though I’ve acquired magic, I’m not confident I could win a head-on fight with him.

‘He was no ordinary hunter to begin with.’

As I ransacked the house, I easily found what I was looking for.

‘He sold a lot.’

For a hunter in the remote territories, he had quite a lot of money and over ten identity badges.

‘Human hunter.’

He was a man who hunted humans as well as beasts.

It wasn’t for nothing that he was able to sell me to a slave trader.

He had connections to begin with.

Even in the remote territories, it’s not like there are no people.

‘Slash-and-burn farmers, criminals, runaway serfs or slaves, vagrants, freedmen…’

He would capture those without any backing and sell them to slave traders.

I was one of those victims.

It was quite some time before I learned his true identity.

To be exact, it was after I learned to speak and write.

‘Hmm… should I use this?’

I choose one of the freemen’s identity badges that looks like it could pass.

‘There are no names I recognize.’

Honestly, I didn’t look too closely. I didn’t plan on using it for long.

I just need to prove that I’m not an escaped slave.

I pack the clothes I brought from Earth separately.

‘It’s a shame, though…’

If you go around in clothes like that, you’ll only become a target.

In addition to the hunter’s money, I also took his clothes and equipment.

I guess because he had been hunting humans, his equipment was quite good.

It’s the best I can have at this point in time.

Even though I’ve gained magic and my body has gotten slightly better, it’s still not enough.

But now that I have the equipment, I can go from barely being able to defeat low-ranking mercenaries to being able to fight on par with mid-ranking mercenaries.

With just that, it shouldn’t be too hard to survive among the humans in the borderlands.

‘This should do it.’

After I buried the hunter family’s bodies and finished my preparations, I left the house.

My destination was set.

‘Ovalan Barony.’

It’s in the borderlands, and it’s also a pioneer territory.

Because of that, it’s not very big, and I remember it not being that far from here.

‘The path… is it this way?’

I follow the traces of people who have passed by.

After walking for about an hour, I started to see the territory’s boundary line.

Long-forgotten memories came flooding back.

As expected of a pioneer territory, it was surrounded by a wooden fence, but to be honest, it was only about the size of a fairly large village.

‘Aside from this place, there were three or four other villages, right?’

To be exact, there were three villages and one additional place that was still being developed.

That’s all there is to the barony.

It’s also an extremely dangerous place since it’s right next to the Monster Forest.

Hunters lived outside the villages because of the nature of their job, but most of the territory’s residents originally lived inside villages like that.

‘Come to think of it, it’s not that small.’

It could be considered quite large for a territory in the borderlands.

It even had something resembling a lord’s castle, and despite being in the dangerous borderlands, it had three subordinate villages plus one that was still being developed.

My memories were so old, and I had been using Earth as my standard, so it seems I had thought it was small in the past.

“Halt. Who goes there?”

A guard from the village stopped me.

Judging from his clothes, he didn’t seem to be a mercenary.

‘A vigilante?’

When I didn’t answer, the guard’s face hardened.

I quickly replied.

“Just a wanderer. I heard there was work here.”

“A wanderer?”

“Ah. Yes. I’m not an escaped slave or anything like that. I’m a free man.”

I said as I showed him the identification plate I had prepared in advance.

“Hmm….”

His face was full of doubt. However, he looked at my equipment and then nodded.

“Your name is… Jimnis? You’re aiming to become a mercenary, I see?”

“Ah, yes.”

‘I should change my name.’

In the first game, I just used my real name.

I was planning to do the same this time.

“Welcome. We have a lot of work here. It’s right next to a forest, too.”

He’s not wrong.

It’s dangerous, but there’s just as much work.

Seeing how he even changed his tone of speech as soon as I said I could be of use to the territory, it seems like the frontier really is underdeveloped.

‘Not many people come here because the rewards don’t match the risks, so it can’t be helped.’

In short, it’s a place with poor cost-effectiveness.

As a result, there’s less resistance to outsiders than I thought.

‘There are only two mercenary groups operating near here?’

One is a mid-sized mercenary group hired by the lord to protect other villages, and the other is a small mercenary group hired by a slave trader to protect him.

They may not have impressive records, but they shouldn’t be underestimated.

In this world, only a tiny minority of nobles have standing armies.

Therefore, aside from self-defense militias, most nobles hire mercenaries, who are professional fighters.

‘Standing armies cost a lot to maintain.’

Since it’s unlikely that the mercenaries will be anything special, most of them must be low-ranking mercenaries, considering that they’re willing to be hired by a frontier territory like this.

‘The leader is probably a mid-ranking mercenary at best.’

He’s likely around my level.

My current level of strength is due to this environment.

Seemingly judging that I was fairly capable, the guard gave me a brief warning not to cause any trouble and let me into the village.

Although it’s a fairly large village with a population of around several hundred, outsiders must be rare, because people are cautiously watching me.

I ignore their gazes and walk around the village.

‘Found it.’

What I was looking for wasn’t unexpectedly difficult to find.

‘Huh. It’s almost like a mansion?’

I had a hunch.

I approach it and see.

This is it.

If the largest building in the village is the lord’s castle, then the second largest is the slave trader’s building.

Seeing how a mere slave trader lives in the second largest building in the territory shows his standing.

‘He must have connections to the lord.’

In a territory, the lord’s authority is absolute.

Of course, it’s only natural.

I let out a small sigh and head towards his building.

Funnily enough, there were guards protecting the slave trader’s mansion.

Judging by their attire, they seem to be mercenaries.

“Halt. “Who are you?”

“Ah, a wanderer… .”

“That outfit. That gear. Isn’t that Neunson’s?”

Freeze.

Neunson.

That was the name of the hunter I killed.

Test

“Speak up. That’s definitely Neunson’s gear, isn’t it?”

I had no proper response to the mercenary guarding us.

Because it was true.

But I didn’t panic.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why do you have Neunson’s gear? Don’t tell me…”

My affirmation hardened his face.

“Yes. I killed him and took it.”

“How bold.”

“I can’t help but be bold. It was self-defense.”

Self-defense.

My words made him raise an eyebrow.

“Self-defense?”

“Don’t you know what that person’s occupation was?”

Human hunter.

Based on what I’d seen in his house, it seemed he had also hunted ordinary animals, but dot com

“Ha, so you killed him because he was after you? And you took his gear as compensation?”

“It’s spoils of war.”

“Neunson wasn’t someone to go down so easily, was he?”

“Well, let’s just say he wasn’t my match.”

I said it confidently, as it was also a form of self-promotion.

“It seems like that person was somehow connected to this side, though.”

“…Heh. Not only did you kill him, but you’re even taking his place?”

“My specialty is a bit different, but I don’t think it’s a bad story.”

Scoff.

My words made the mercenary laugh in disbelief.

“Well, it’s not a bad story from our employer’s perspective.”

Fortunately, it seemed like this mercenary wasn’t particularly close to Neunson.

‘They must have just known each other by face.’

That was good for me. I didn’t want to cause unnecessary friction.

“Neunson’s instincts must have been off. I remember him as someone who didn’t mess with those he couldn’t handle.”

“Well, I was the one who was attacked first, so I don’t know much about that person. Maybe he underestimated me because my gear was a bit shabby at the time.”

“You took care of Neunson when your gear was subpar… Alright. I’ll report it to the higher-ups for now. Wait here.”

Thankfully, things went well.

No, rather, from my perspective, it was actually beneficial that the other party recognized the hunter’s gear, as it led to a higher evaluation.

Shortly after, the mercenary brought someone down.

“He’s a servant of the mansion. Follow him. “Your employer wants to meet you.”

“Thank you.”

“I only delivered a message.”

“If it goes well, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Oh, that’s good news. I’ll pray that it goes well.”

I planned to stay on this estate for a while, so it wouldn’t hurt to make connections.

As I followed the servant into the building, I saw the luxurious interior.

‘Was this underground?’

It’s where I used to live.