Necromancer Survival

Chapter 438

Chapter 438

As I listened to Dawon, a memory–of when I had gone underground with Choi Kyung-sik to retrieve Garam–surfaced. There, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu while looking at the orange symbols.

"…!"

I didn't recognize it at the time, but, upon further contemplation, the faint light lining the walls was similar to what I had seen in the [Tower of Command].

"Of course, it's not the exact same formula." Dawon continued, as if to reassure me and my pallid complexion.

Garam, who was also trapped, also nodded at Dawon's words. "Hyung, you're right. It wasn’t like the [Tower of the Command], where the ritual was fixed in place, leaving me completely unable to use my physical strength. I could still move the dummy a bit, even if it was limited. Remember? I talked to you in the beginning."

"Ah…"

"A downgraded version–perhaps one that's significantly altered or weakened?" Choi Kyung-sik, who had been listening quietly, raised his glasses and asked.

Dawon did not nod easily–he closed his mouth as if he were seemingly lost in agonized thought. "I can't be certain. But, it carried a similar essence."

"As time went by, it felt like I was more and more fucked. Haah… and this beautiful pretty boy's body gradually became a skeleton…" Garam exaggerated in a dramatic, melancholic tone.

But, since I had been the one to face him at that time, I knew his appearance hadn't changed. I quickly refuted his claim. "Only the dummy was damaged back then. Your soul was intact, wasn't it?"

"That's what it seemed like when I looked down at my body. Imagine thinking you'd finally regained something close to resurrection, only to have it all reset to zero! Imagine how horrible that must have felt!" Despite the exaggerated whine, Garam glanced at me with unease laden in his gaze.

I had a clue why he was making that expression: Garam had almost killed me at that time. I still felt dizzy thinking about the incident. I remembered how my arms shook when I had finally managed to waylay Garam and climb the glass wall to be beyond his reach…

‘But, even so, Garam tried hard not to use violence against me… And he succeeded.'

The impulsiveness of that lapse in rationality seemed similar to what happens periodically with Koo Hui-seo, but there was a crucial difference. Though Garam was younger and less experienced, he still chose to endure the urges by stabbing his hand with a dagger rather than hurting me.

I smiled faintly at the memory and looked at Garam. When our eyes met, he puffed his cheeks and avoided my gaze. "What's with that weird expression?"

"What do you mean weird expression…"

He'd be upset if I said I was proud of him, right? Maybe because he had a height complex, Garam was sensitive to being treated like a child.

In any case, there was no disagreement on the theory that the cage and the magic enchanting that cage were aimed directly at us. The whole location had been a trap designed to target us.

Choi Kyung-sik also added his two cents in a quiet voice, "When my golem was breaking through the dungeon from the outside, there was a moment when I had felt that the dungeon was almost completely isolated itself from the outside. I might call it something like a… ‘closure phenomenon.' It’s normal in a real dungeon, but it’s unusual for the phenomenon to happen in a fake dungeon… I had to self-destruct one of my golems to forcibly reconnect the dungeon with the outside world."

Dawon nodded, "When I was locked in the cage, I suspected that my connection with Lee-Kyung had been completely severed. Then, the connection reappeared–albeit faint… That was a crisis we overcame thanks to your judgment. Well done."

"Well, that's basic stuff." Choi Kyung-sik replied, smirking. But as soon as he made eye contact with me, he quickly tried to restrain his expression and forcefully lowered the raised corners of his mouth.

‘If you're happy with getting praised by Dawon-ie, then you should just express that.'

Honestly, trying to hide it only makes him seem more suspicious. Anyway, what a complicated person. I glanced at Kyung-sik’s convoluted expression before turning my focus back to Dawon.

"However, despite our efforts, I couldn’t find the right timing to escape. After realizing the magic structure trapping me was similar to what I had experienced in the [Tower of Command], I started increasing my mana to dispel it. The circumstances were much better than back then, so I was confident. Above all, I had already formed a contract with Lee-kyung-ie."

"……" Feeling a bit bashful, I scratched my cheek.

But, none of the servants contradicted or mocked me. That, somehow, made it even more awkward.

"…But, the more I tried to dispel the trap, the more I realized that the cage wasn’t breaking under my overwhelming magic. Rather, the trap's structure was becoming stronger, and my mana was gradually draining away." ?????È?

Woo Ragi grimaced at those words. "Hey, isn't that similar to something you made long ago…"

"Midway through, I thought the same. And your hunch is right."

"What?"

"You're actually correct. It was a modified version of the undead trap I created with Lee Dojin long ago. I was trapped in an item that combined the effects of the [Tower of Command]’s soul catcher mechanism and the undead trap."

Olim sighed, "…So, you became a prisoner in a prison you created."

"That's right. It's an absurd mistake, isn't it? But by the time I realized it… well, you know. We were already in our worst-case scenario." Dawon said with a self-deprecating tone.

As I remembered the past events, I couldn't laugh at the jokes he made at his own expense. After all, Dawon had endured so much suffering at the hands of Moon Issak. And I also…

"……" I felt resentful at my slightly trembling shoulders. The shaking was spurred by the fragility of a body that still remembered vivid violence.

Dawon, sensing my thoughts, held my hands tightly. Fortunately, there was no sign of the uncontrollable rage he had once succumbed to.

‘Like that time…'

I didn't want Dawon to lose himself anymore.

Perhaps Olim was also recalling that time–she was silent as well.

Surprisingly, it was Garam who broke the unceasing silence. "But, Dawon-ie hyung. What about your long hair?"

For the first time in a long while, a troubled expression settled on Dawon's face. "It's hard for me to fully explain as well. It's not a power I can control."

"Did you know about this power before you died?" Kim Olim asked sharply.

"…That's right. It was a scenario called ‘Apocrypha.' Although, I failed to decipher it." Dawon-ie paused there and shut his mouth.

At that moment, Garam, tilting his head in confusion, dropped an unexpected bombshell. "Somehow, hyung smelled a bit like Koo Hui-seo back then…"

"What?" Startled, I asked back.

However, Dawon didn't refute the young Assassin's words and stayed still. He even nodded in agreement, "The origin of a power that denies the natural order—the Beginning of [Retrograde]. In some ways, ‘this' and ‘that’ share the same root."

When I heard that, I suddenly remembered how Koo Hui-seo had been decapitated and revived. The moment I reattached his neck and revived him, a small child came out of nowhere.

‘Is that somehow related to Dawon too?'

But Dawon said he couldn't tell us any more about it. "There's restrictions that bind this power."

"You idiot. Why would you use something like that? What if you seriously screwed yourself over while using it?" Woo Ragi said harshly. But his words weren't out of disdain; his tone carried hints of frustration and concern. It almost seemed like he felt bad for the Mage.

At that moment, Dawon looked back at me. "I survived thanks to Lee-kyung-ie."

"What?"

"…Huh?"

Dawon, instead of explaining further, stared at me as if he couldn’t understand my startled reaction. Then, ‘with an expression that seemed to say, You really didn’t know?,' he said, “You completed the final contract with Jo Chan-young, stabilizing our bonds again. I couldn’t even intervene during that last contract…”

"Ah."

"Arf!" Jo Chan-young barked, as if he understood what we were talking about.

But that was all. I had hoped he might do something more remarkable, but in the end, he simply kept enthusiastically licking Bang Eunji’s hand, occasionally smacking his lips as if savoring the taste.

"By the way, who could have recreated the undead trap Dawon designed and used it against us? How is that even possible?” I voiced my confusion at this near incomprehensible situation.

Dawon, Olim, and Woo Ragi spoke simultaneously, "Lee Dojin."

The name that tumbled from their lips belonged to South Korea’s most renowned weapon-smith—a master blacksmith known as the “Hand of God." She was famous for crafting anything as long as the price was right.

After saying her name, Dawon frowned. "I'm sure she didn't create the entire dungeon, but the birdcage was definitely her work. She would have made it according to her client's specifications."

"Are you certain she didn't create the entire dungeon?"

"I don't think Lim Jisoo has enough money to have Lee Dojin make the entire thing. The same goes for Bae jaemin."

"Ah…" I was struck briefly spreechless at the unexpected logic. But, soon I gathered myself–there were more important questions to ask. "Do you think Lee Dojin is also collaborating with the tragedy collaborators?"

Once again, though, Dawon-ie, Olim-ie, and Woo Ragi all gave similar responses.

"It's unlikely."

"…We should hope not."

"That miser? Even the Tragedy Collectors wouldn’t be able to pay that old hag the amount she’d demand."

"……" I had nothing to say. Since my only exposure to her work had been through admiring her weapons at auctions, I was ignorant of her personality or motives. Still, piecing together what the three said, she seemed to be someone with a firm set of principles—or at least a very clear priority guiding her actions.

‘Money…'

Just money.

Of course, I didn't have money either. But the people around me did–lots of it. And, these people were eager to cooperate with me.

"If that person isn't related to the tragedy collectors, and if they can be bought with money… Couldn't we ask Koo Hui-seo to commission her? Then, we could have a incredible weapon in our arsenal as well." I felt a bit embarrassed since I hadn’t yet asked for Koo Hui-seo's cooperation, but realistically, I thought this was the quickest way to meet her.

The Servants, though, didn't readily agree. While patting Jo Chan-young elegantly with the puppy in her embrace, Bang Eunji laughed, "Ham-lee-kyung-kun, a commoner like you may not understand, but…There are many wealthy people in this world."

"C-Commoner…?"

“Ham-Lee-kyung, before you met the guild master, have you ever spent over 100 million won 1 in a single month?”

“……”

“Master Blacksmith Lee Dojin is a craftsman who even the ultra-rich—those who spend 10 billion won 2 a month without blinking—still have to wait at least two years to meet.”

"……"

“That’s why items made by Lee Dojin sometimes cost more on the second-hand market than when they were first commissioned. She’s just that hard to contact."

I couldn't help but feel both astonished and offended as I listened to Bang Eunji. I felt like she was belittling me.

Woo Ragi made things worse. He had been silently listening in and, at that moment, snickered derisively. That really got under my skin. And as soon as our eyes met, he wasted no time flinging fuel on the fire. “What are you looking at, you penniless beggar?”

‘Just as I thought–he's mocking me!'

Dawon, noticing that I was worrying and biting at my lips in frustration, gently stopped me by brushing his thumb across them. Then, in a statement that was clearly directed at me but also loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, "There are ways to meet Lee Dojin…without necessarily commissioning her. That woman… She's crazy about money, but she's crazy about beautiful things in general. The reason she's so crazy about hoarding money in the first place is because her collection costs a fortune."

Olim-ie looked at Dawon and crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you have anything that would attract Lee Dojin's interest."

"Yep. But meeting her unprepared would be pointless. She’s as sly as a snake 3 , so luring her in won’t be easy.”

"……."

"So, we'll have to make preparations."

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TL: Semester's started T_T Work is piling up.

Also, RIP, the economy is fucked.

1. About 70,000 dollars.
2. about 7 million USD
3. In particular, the Lycodon rufozonatus snake. According to Wikipedia, it's only found in Korea and China. I had no idea they were so rare tbh. It looks like any other snake you'd find in the world..and they were kinda a pest on my grandparent's farm.