Chapter 44

This is the second of today's two chapter updates.

If you haven't read the previous chapter, please do so first.

■ The second-in-command of the Gooz Maze Bandit Gang, the Great Lich Mays

In this world, there exist powers known as Super-Class Jobs.

Among the myriad of jobs that all human-like beings can take on, these are the pinnacle, attainable by only a select few.

A power that surpasses even the limits of human existence... that is what a Super-Class Job is.

One who once wielded this power was the Great Sage, known as the guardian deity of the Alter Kingdom.

It is said that his magic power approached the divine, and he could wield great magic that could bring down the heavens and split the earth.

And it was also said that the one who defeated the Great Sage in the previous war was the Beast King, a Super-Class Job and a Master.

This would be nothing but a tragedy for the Alter Kingdom, but there were those who rejoiced,

for only one person can occupy each Super-Class Job in an era.

With the death of the current Great Sage, the seat of the Great Sage would be vacant, and there would be those who sought it.

I, too, aim for the power of a Super-Class Job.

But the seat I aim for is not that of the Great Sage.

What I aim for is the Super-Class Job of the Lich King, the pinnacle of the necromancer line.

Beyond the Necromancer who wields necromancy.

Beyond the Great Lich who has reached the pinnacle of necromancy and become undead.

The throne of the king of all undead, surpassing the power of all corpses.

The power of immortality.

The only means to obtain true immortality, which only a Master possesses.

That is the Lich King.

To prepare for the power of the Lich King, I led the Gooz Maze Bandit Gang.

I abducted children to practice necromancy.

I obtained gold to get magic items and to send them to Cardina.

In that country, money is everything. The nobility and the commoners of Cardina are defined by the amount of money they have.

If a large sum of money is offered, the soldiers of Gideon can be made to respond, and the Cardina army can be made to show off their strength.

This would make the people of the Alter Kingdom fear provoking Cardina and refrain from attacking us near the border.

Furthermore, by obtaining magic items such as Concealment and Presence Concealment from Cardina, the abduction of materials became easier.

I was able to refine my necromancy in a leisurely manner, with ample materials and environment, and walk the path to the Lich King.

To attain the seat of a Super-Class Job, one must overcome multiple difficult conditions and achieve trials.

I have deciphered ancient texts and know the conditions for the Lich King.

One of the conditions I found in the ancient texts, "5000 years of life turned into undead," was easily achieved by leading the bandit gang from this stronghold.

I used children who still had much of their lifespan left, and the success rate of necromancy was excellent, making it very efficient.

I could have achieved it by processing 100, but I continued the process because the "assets" of the undead are never enough.

In the process, I completed another condition, "Creation of the Wraith Crystal."

The Wraith Crystal is completed by giving a great amount of fear... resentment to the Purifying Crystal, which is said to cleanse the impurity of death.

Gooz was useful for this.

The fear of the children being torn, bitten, and devoured while still alive was a very good source of resentment.

Good resentment was also obtained when the children were turned into undead materials in the agony magic circle while still alive.

The crystal, which once emitted a white, divine, and annoying light, is now dyed pitch black, with not a single ray of light visible.

As you can see, the conditions for ascending to the Lich King have already been met.

All that remains is to go to the Legendary, where the throne of the Lich King is sealed, complete the trials, and become the Lich King.

There is no longer any use for this stronghold or the bandit gang.

Soon, troublesome people will gather in Gideon.

Before that, I decided to leave this place after eliminating everything except for the useful Gooz among my subordinates.

It was at that moment that a reckless intruder sneaked into the stronghold.

◆

"Die."

As I spoke, a man fell to the floor of the laboratory with a thud.

I cannot see his face as he lies prostrate, but the blood flowing from his neck stains the stone floor.

Beside him stands a child, controlled by my magic, who has slit the man's throat at my command.

If I turn the child into an undead monster, it will be identified by the name above its head.

In such cases, it is best to use them while they are still alive.

"You were careless, weren't you? You fool."

I reassemble my "collapsed body."

My skeletal structure, as a centaur, comes together, and I wrap myself in a robe.

Skin stretches over the bones, and at the same time, flesh swells to restore my body.

Until this moment, I was nothing but a skeleton, the effect of the Corpse skill of the Great Lich.

The man on the floor should have seen me as nothing but a skeleton.

This is not something an ordinary necromancer can do.

But I am a higher existence, the Great Lich.

Resurrecting from a complete skeleton is no trouble at all.

"Hmm, you're still alive?"

Despite the fact that the blood flowing from his neck has already diminished, the man's body still has a heartbeat.

On a whim, I use Appraisal on the black halberd with a flag that the man still holds in his right hand, but nothing is displayed.

In other words, this halberd is an Embryo, and this man is a Master. It is understandable that he is tough.

"Do you still have consciousness? But it's useless. This dagger is coated with a secret potion of Paralysis and Poison, specially prepared by me as a Great Lich. You will die without being able to move."

The body is heading towards death due to Bleeding and Poison, and even movement is impossible due to Paralysis.

If this man were not a Master, I could have obtained good resentment from him.

Masters are not suitable as sources of resentment.

Masters can resurrect in three days even if they die.

The fear of death and the resentment are incomparably weak compared to Tians.

Perhaps because they are completely immortal, they always live half in play.

The Master party that attacked here before was also like that.

I easily killed them all with my magic and Gooz's power.

However, I cannot turn their bodies into undead monsters, so they are of no use as media for a necromancer.

I find them annoying, not only because they are immortal, but also because they are above me.

... Speaking of which, I remember.

The party that came first, the Tians, provided me with high-quality resentment through torture.

It was very enjoyable.

The bodies also became quite useful materials.

Tians can be easily turned into undead.

... I would like to create undead Masters someday, but for now, it is enough to have gotten rid of this nuisance.

By now, Gooz should be taking care of this man's companions on the surface.

With this, all that remains is to leave this stronghold and complete the trials in the appropriate place to become the Lich King.

"Well, shall we leave this place and go to the Legendary?"

As I was about to pass through the door of the laboratory, I noticed a child, the material I had put to sleep with magic in the next room.

I almost forgot.

"The bandit gang is closing down. All the children must be killed and turned into materials for the undead."

At that moment, the fingers of the man who had fallen to the floor twitched.

"Hmm?"

From that reaction and the glimpse of the man's profile, I realized.

"You came all the way here to save the children? Not for the sake of my treasure?"

"..."

The man is silent.

He probably couldn't speak to begin with... but his reaction made it clear.

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