Chapter 2: Prologue (2)
“Krooo!”
A creature resembling a dragon roared as it looked up at the sky.
It was called a Draginote.
A single entity possessed the power to destroy an entire kingdom.
“Death’s Touch.”
“Kieeek!”
The Draginote let out a pitiful groan of agony and perished.
“Undead Creation. Death’s Draginote.”
Grinning.
Sion’s lips twitched ever so slightly.
The feeling of joy wasn’t just about obtaining the Draginote.
The Draginote’s level was 71.
To have it die in one hit meant reaching level 99 at last.
Ten years old this year.
It took four years to possess and reach max level.
“It wasn’t easy.”
It was a time of sacrifice.
Indeed, reality and the game were different.
When it was just a computer game, he could grind all day by sleeping only 2 hours a day-
But in reality, he had to sleep properly, especially since sneaking out of the mansion took a long time.
“Now that I’ve hit max level, all that’s left is to collect undead.”
And—
There was something unavoidable when reaching max level.
“Undead Summoning, Dark Knight.”
A black whirlwind swirled before Sion, and a Dark Knight appeared before him.
The red glow shining inside the black helmet.
A face concealed by an unrecognizable skull.
It was the Dark Knight that Sion first created four years ago.
“Euchaa.”
Sion took out various items from his bag.
The rewards for clearing the dungeon, ‘Kingdom Knight Commander’s Resting Place,’ the ‘Royal Emblem,’ and the ‘Holy Sword Galatin.’
And the marble that comes out when you defeat the boss monster of that dungeon.
These were items he had cherished for four years, in anticipation of this moment.
Sion hung the Royal Emblem pendant around his neck and scattered Galatin and the marble in front of the Dark Knight.
“Of course, the first hero you obtain should be the Dark Knight.”
The skill ‘Awakening,’ which can be obtained when reaching level 99 as a Necromancer.
Now it was time to perform that ritual.
“O spirits who fell without realizing your desires in life.”
Flames ignited on the marble, and black smoke scattered.
The black smoke was sucked into the Dark Knight’s nose and mouth.
“I offer you flesh and bone, and shall grant you purpose in the abyss of darkness. Answer my call at the end of darkness.”
Undead have no ego.
This is the process of summoning undead spirits from the past and giving them consciousness.
“Undead Awakening, Dark Knight.”
The Dark Knight brightly emitted light.
Sion stared without blinking, piercing through the glare.
“Awesome…!”
The bright light quickly plunged into darkness.
Saaaah-
A sinister aura of darkness emanated from the surroundings.
Trees withered and twisted, and the nutrients in the ground vanished.
And all of those things turned into the flesh and blood of the Dark Knight.
“How… did this happen? I was definitely dead.”
Instead of an empty skull, there was flesh.
The red glow shone with a vivid blue light.
The knight with dazzling golden hair looked at his own hands with an expression of disbelief.
Glancing at Sion, he stuttered before speaking with a blank face.
“You are…?”
‘Amazing!’
For the first time since birth, Sion was thrilled.
The texture of the skin, the voice, the subtle movements.
It was a naturalness that he couldn’t believe was undead.
In fact, even if he inserted the soul of a spirit, it was impossible to achieve such a natural human appearance right away.
This was possible because Sion had already raised the Dark Knight’s level to its limit in advance.
There was satisfaction in dividing the experience points and marbles he consumed.
Sion was very pleased with his first creation.
“It’s big.”
‘You shouldn’t be satisfied already.’
The awakening ritual wasn’t simply chanting a spell and injecting mana.
It was embedding a living soul. This was not ‘domination’ but ‘contract.’
In other words, if the person in front of you didn’t agree, the ritual couldn’t succeed.
With hopeful eyes, Sion pointed at the pendant around his own neck.
“That, that’s! The Royal Emblem!”
Sion nodded his head twice.
“Are you perhaps a descendant of the Pianen Kingdom?”
Sion nodded his head once. The Dark Knight’s eyes widened.
“I apologize for not recognizing you!”
The Dark Knight knelt towards Sion, shedding hot tears.
“And I’m grateful.”
“…”
“For the great descendant who survived in the hands of the empire.”
Sion’s complexion slightly paled.
The Dark Knight before him was the soul of the Knight Commander of the ‘Pianen Kingdom’ who died 500 years ago.
In the story, every descendant of the Pianen Kingdom perished at the hands of the imperial army.
Of course, he could have lied. After all, the condition for the hero in front of him was the pendant around his neck, the ‘Royal Emblem.’
But for some reason, he didn’t want to lie. It felt different from facing mere data scraps.
Before him stood an honorable knight who once served with loyalty.
‘Can’t be helped.’
With a slightly melancholic heart, Sion decided to tell the truth.
“Sorry. There are no living descendants of the Pianen royal family in this world.”
“…!”
“After you died, 500 years have passed. And I am a necromancer.”
Intentionally, Sion revealed his presence.
The forest was filled with a dark energy that could hardly be seen as benevolent.
‘Was that dialogue too chuuni-like just now?’
Sion felt a little embarrassed.
“I see.”
The Dark Knight rose with a bitter smile.
“I truly am dead. Only now do I remember.”
Sion looked down despondently.
He had gone through so much to obtain the Dark Knight before him, only to let it slip away.
‘Should I have just lied?’
“May I ask one thing?”
“Yes.”
The knight asked seriously.
“You said you would fulfill my wish. Is there no falsehood in that oath?”
Sion nodded.
Fulfilling his wish wasn’t something difficult.
The Dark Knight smiled faintly.
“I see.”
Once again, the Dark Knight knelt on one knee.
“I am Gawain, Knight Commander of the Pianen Kingdom, Knight of the Sun.”
“I am a sinner who committed betrayal longer than my lord’s lifetime. There is only one thing that fulfills my wish.”
Gawain held out the Holy Sword Galatine horizontally to Sion.
“Completing the loyalty left unfinished in my past life.”
Sion’s eyes widened.
“I am not a descendant of the Pianen Kingdom. Does that matter?”
Gawain chuckled.
“Even though the blood flowing through our veins may differ, as long as you wear that emblem around your neck, there is no lack in swearing my loyalty.”
‘Well, this turned out unexpectedly.’
Sion never expected Gawain to react like this. There was no reason to refuse, of course.
Sion briskly accepted the sword.
Gawain bowed deeply and closed his eyes.
‘I’ve always wanted to do this.’
Excitedly, Sion gripped the sword and gently touched Gawain’s shoulders.
“My name is Sion Rockfeller. The contract is now complete.”
Gawain opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
“I swear to serve you until the day my life fades away. My master-”
**
Having reached the maximum level, having acquired Gawain, Sion, who had nothing more to achieve, began gathering subordinates.
Thanks to that, he now had a respectable number of subordinates, enough for a necromancer.
Among them were heroes who had dominated an era like Gawain, and legendary monsters who had destroyed half of the world.
Each one of them was reliable.
“Gawain, what’s your current level?”
A black smoke scattered into the empty air, and Gawain appeared.
“About 80% of my past life.”
It had been six years since Gawain became his subordinate, but he was still at 80%. It might seem small, but in reality, it was different. In the game’s story, Gawain from his past life was a hero in the top tier.
Even at 80%, his current strength surpassed most knights of this era.
“That should be sufficient.”
“I’ve been curious for a while, my lord. What are you preparing for with such vigor?”
“Well, because that day is approaching.”
Sion was 15 years old this year. The time he had been waiting for since he was reincarnated was finally drawing near.
The starting point of this game. The Academy.
“If that day comes…”
“The beginning and the end of this world. Failure is not an option.”
“Are you talking about defeating the Demon King?”
‘It’s just the entrance ceremony.’
Too lazy to explain, Sion simply nodded.
“My lord, I’ll go train. We need to prepare as soon as possible for ‘that day’.”
Sion nodded.
Gawain swiftly dashed off to the training grounds. Watching his retreating figure, Sion smirked.
“I might have misunderstood something, but… oh well.”
Sion opened the door to the room at the end of the hallway.
The musty smell of dust greeted him. Shelves filled the spacious room, displaying rows of skeleton dolls.
These were the “subordinates” Sion had collected over time.
For necromancers, there was a concept of “slots,” and they couldn’t register many subordinates at once. So, this method was necessary.
“Huh.”
Sion had a total of three slots. One was occupied by Gawain, and the remaining two were vacant.
One was reserved in case he encountered a promising specimen to turn into an undead.
The last one was for… a hero.
“Ehehe, ehehehe.”
The skeleton figurines on the shelves rattled softly.
“-My lord! A letter has arrived for you from Sir Hujak!”
The voice of the mansion’s only maid, Mari, echoed.
“Ah.”
Sion went back inside with his usual expressionless face.
Before leaving the storage room, he turned back and muttered softly.
“You should get along well.”
The skeletons continued to tremble.
But as soon as he closed the door, the trembling seemed to stop, as if reassured.
**
[Enroll in the Hero Academy. And if you see any potential heroes, crush them. Don’t forget to cause plenty of trouble. I highly recommend tormenting friends.]
It was the contents of a letter from his blood-relative father.
It was the first contact in ten years. And he didn’t even come to see him this time.
He was truly a splendid father.
“How fascinating. Our little master is already old enough to go to the academy.”
Sion had finally turned sixteen.
The day had come for him to take the entrance exam for the Hero Academy.
Maid Mari was helping Sion with his attire.
“You were so cute when you were little. Of course, you’re still cute now.”
Sion checked his reflection in the mirror.
It was his own face, but the more he looked, the more he admired it.
The epitome of beauty beyond description. Although being too tall due to the influence of magic might be a flaw, he was still a perfect pretty boy.
Of course, the necromancer’s aura neutralized his handsomeness to some extent.
“You’re also talented, so you’ll make friends quickly… I think.”
Mari said it confidently, but her confidence was wavering.
Except for the person who brought him in, claiming he was a knight when Sion was about ten years old, Mari had never seen Sion talk to anyone else. But—
“Yeah. I think so too.”
Sion was confident.
After all, he had reached the maximum level.
He was good-looking.
He even prepared gifts to make friends with the heroes.
His family was also a high-ranking noble, so he was a high-ranking noble.
Making friends should be a piece of cake.
“It’s actually worrying if I become too popular.”
“Well, that’s… fortunate. But…”
‘Our young master… will be okay, right?’
Mari suddenly felt anxious.
