Chapter 1: Prologue (1)
Role-playing game, commonly known as RPG.
If you’re a fan of this genre, you probably have one or two preferred professions.
Sion was a necromancer. Well, because it’s cool.
“What character should I play today?”
[LV. 99 Necromancer 1]
[LV. 99 Necromancer 2]
[LV. 99 Necromancer 3]
[LV. 99 Necromancer 4]
Numerous max-level characters appeared on the screen. They all look like necromancers, but they have distinct differences. That’s the concept.
For example, ‘Necromancer 4’ reached max level only using skeletons. ‘Necromancer 1’ cleared the game with a level 1 weapon.
There are also those who play as necromancers but only use swords, or those who become heroes and dominate the human world.
This was possible because ‘Ragnarok’ is a game with high freedom.
This time, I was contemplating what concept to create. The answer was already decided.
“I guess I’ll create something new.”
I pressed the character creation button. A transparent window appeared.
[Hero]
[Dark Lord]
This is asking which side to play. Depending on the choice, the clearing conditions are different.
If you choose a hero, clearing means killing the Dark Lord. If you choose the Dark Lord, clearing means helping the Dark Lord dominate the human world.
By the way, Sion’s preference was the Dark Lord. Well, he’s a necromancer.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never tried playing as a hero.”
It was a sudden realization. Despite choosing the hero, I’ve never actually played through a conventional hero storyline, instead finding myself aligning with the Dark Lord.
Even though I consider myself a veteran of this game, I’ve never tried the orthodox route.
“This time, let’s try being a real hero. Being a necromancer hero might be a bit awkward… but it won’t take long to reach max level anyway.”
Without hesitation, Sion chose the ‘Dark Lord’. Well, opting for the Dark Lord but siding with the Hero is more fun.
[You have chosen ‘Dark Lord’.]
[First impression -50]
[Affinity with main characters decreases.]
[Infamy +50]
[Main characters view you with suspicion.]
[Dark Lord Growth Adjustment +200%]
[Dark Lord grows faster than heroes.]
In this game, ‘affinity’ is a crucial value.
There might even be a saying like, ‘Choosing the Dark Lord means low intelligence.’
But as a veteran player, any penalty didn’t matter much.
Personally, I consider ‘Experience Growth Adjustment’ more important.
Next is the ‘appearance’ setting. Unlike other games, appearance is quite important in this game.
Sion chose black hair.
[Black hair symbolizes ominousness in the Ragnarok continent.]
[Infamy +20]
This game is quite fair.
If it takes something away, it gives something in return.
Similarly, when choosing black hair, a hidden appearance could be selected.
[Acquire Handsome trait.]
[Charm +50]
Charm may not be a practical stat, but if your character is unattractive, it’s hard to enjoy the game.
“Well, this should do.”
With a yawn, Sion pressed the ‘complete’ button.
And when he opened his eyes, the character he had just created was there.
**
The memory of his past life came to him when he was six years old.
“……”
He had transmigrated, no, reincarnated as a game character.
Knowing this fact didn’t surprise him much.
Well, there’s not much to change even if he were surprised.
Instead, he thought it wasn’t a bad starting point.
In Ragnarok, where you can set various things at the beginning, ‘origin’ was random.
The family Sion was born into was the Rockefeller Marquis. A famous dark lord family in the game. They were like mid-level boss level.
“Lucky me.”
“M-master, you spoke.”
Indeed, he was lucky.
But there was something odd.
It was the existence of his parents.
“Maid. Am I an orphan?”
“Or-orphan? N-no, Master, they are just a little busy.”
Sion had never seen his parents. Honestly, he didn’t even know their names.
All he had were a mansion as big as a castle and a flood of gold coins when he opened the warehouse door.
There was also a note there.
– Use it for doing bad things.
Parents he had never seen, yet they were truly wonderful parents.
And just a few days after asking that question, those wonderful parents came to find him.
“It’s been a while, son.”
“Nice to meet you for the first time.”
As soon as the wonderful parents arrived, they asked abruptly.
“What is your dream?”
“I want to be a necromancer.”
“Excellent. Become a wicked necromancer and dominate the world.”
To support the dream of becoming a necromancer. They were indeed good parents. And so, Sion completed the advanced class quest(?). After that, he secretly slipped out of the mansion.
“Ten years left.”
The main story of the game begins at the academy. You can enroll in the academy from the age of sixteen.
So, there was one thing he had to do. Level up. Sion found the nearest forest from the mansion.
“Goblin.”
“Squeak!”
He happened to encounter a passing goblin. It was an opportunity to check its specs.
“Touch of Death.”
“S-Squeak? Squeal!”
The goblin died in great agony.
“So this is how you use skills.”
Honestly, he pondered over how to do it, but it was so simple that the time felt wasted.
“There’s a mana stone here.”
Digging through the dead goblin, a crimson stone came out. This is called a mana stone. It turns into money when sold and becomes power when consumed. Sion immediately consumed it. He seemed to have enough money.
“But how do I check my stats?”
Sion shouted into the air.
“Status window.”
“……”
There was no change at all. Indeed, the game and reality were different shapes.
“Oh well, doesn’t matter.”
Anyway, nothing changed. Just kill monsters and level up. Sion moved on to find his next prey with a slow pace.
**
A month passed.
Meeting an orc, Sion reached out his hand.
“Touch of Death.”
“Touch of Death.”
“Touch of Death.”
After chanting it three times, the orc died.
“If I can take down three rooms with a No-item, I’d be around level 17.”
That’s right. Sion was a veteran. Roughly estimating the damage, he could guess his current level. It was time to go to the hidden dungeon.
Sion rummaged through the bushes and stood in front of a cave. Then, he took out the bag behind him.
“The Necklace of Ominousness.”
It was a necklace woven from the bones of some animal. It looked quite unpleasant, but wearing it would grant an additional 50% experience points. Sion put it around his neck.
“The Shackles of Lirpne.”
It was a thick anklet. Instead of reducing attack power to zero, it could dramatically increase defense. He placed it on the ground.
“Mana Enhancement Scrolls.”
He took out ten scrolls and laid them on the ground.
“The Bones of an Unknown Adventurer.”
He scattered the bones on the ground and raised his hand, shouting.
“Undead Summon, Skeleton of the Cowardly Adventurer.”
The bones floated in the air, and a fairly imposing skeleton appeared.
“Come here.”
Clatter-
The skeleton clumsily walked towards him, its bones clinking.
“Equip all of these.”
The skeleton equipped the items on the ground.
“Skill Granted, Haste.”
“Undead Command, Use Haste every time it’s off cooldown.”
With an expressionless face, Sion pointed into the cave.
“Enter the dungeon and keep going.”
The skeleton’s head tilted slightly.
Then, at an unbelievable speed, it entered the dungeon.
“Let’s wait a bit.”
Sion sat down and periodically tore apart the mana scrolls.
“Skeleton Command. Stop there.”
Though unseen, by now, all the monsters in the dungeon were probably attacking the skeleton. A so-called mobbing. And this was, as far as Sion knew, the fastest leveling method.
As he tore the fifth scroll, he said,
“Skeleton Explosion.”
Boom!
An enormous noise echoed.
Thud thud thud-
The cave in front trembled.
Boom!
Then it collapsed, crashing down.
“Now level 31.”
Next was preparing for the boss battle.
He quickly emptied the bag of various bones onto the ground.
“All skeletons, summon. Move towards the collapsed cave over there.”
Nineteen skeletons moved.
“Dare you disturb my rest!”
An angry voice echoed.
The dungeon’s name was ‘Resting Place of the Kingdom’s Knight Commander’.
It was a cave where the knights of the fallen kingdom had fled and died from the imperial army.
“You… huh? Kid? But why are there so many skeletons?”
A boss monster peeked out of the rubble pile, only showing its head. And the skeletons surrounded it.
Sion exploded them without mercy.
“All skeletons, explode.”
Kwaaah!
The boss monster, bombarded by the explosion of nineteen skeletons, died instantly.
“Now level 50, I suppose.”
Sion walked over to the spot.
How much he had struggled for this day.
…Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t struggled much.
Anyway, he reached out his hand and chanted.
“Born from darkness and ends in darkness. ‘Life’ is but a process of returning to darkness even in ‘death’, so answer my call.”
This was the flower of necromancy.
It was Sion’s favorite undead.
“Undead Creation. Dark Knight.”
**
Back at the mansion, Sion lay on the soft bed and looked up at the ceiling.
“From now on, I just need to find hidden dungeons and create subordinates. After that, I’ll level up the undead…”
Game strategies filled his mind.
There was still a lot to do in the future.
“But what should I do after leveling up so much?”
Sion pondered briefly. Then, the thought he had when he first created the character came to mind.
“Right. I wanted to be a hero.”
A hero.
A being that kills demons.
A praised figure by people.
It was the only playstyle Sion had never tried in this game because he found it boring.
“But do I really have to be the one to kill them myself?”
Suddenly, that thought crossed his mind.
After all, he had also slain the demons before.
“Come to think of it, since I created a character aligned with the Dark Lord, someone has to play the role of the ‘hero.’”
Instead of taking the lead this time, how about supporting that hero?
“That sounds interesting.”
It was quite a good idea.
The corners of Sion’s mouth lifted slightly as he lay on the bed.
“Hehehe.”
Just thinking about turning a hero into an undead and accompanying him made him excited.
