The Necromancer's Pettiness
I was frustrated.
Of course, strictly speaking, I had won through skill, but you could say luck was on my side.
Because only one troll had appeared.
I had heard that trolls usually roam in packs of two or three.
That's why I said I was lucky.
But they were accusing me of being a liar.
It was absurd.
ㄴReallyDirtPoor: But why am I a liar?
ㄴReallyDirtPoor: What's with the surprise attack slander?
ㄴ:ㅗ
Deciding it was pointless to engage further, I closed the forum and pulled Dontas out from the tree.
I wasn't exactly weak, so I could be of at least a little help.
"Oh my, thank you. I almost got stuck in that tree."
"Don't mention it, we're comrades."
It's only natural to help out a comrade, right?
As I said this to Dontas, Hearts came running towards me with an angry expression.
[Haste]
I quickly increased my movement speed to escape Hearts' reach.
As a man, I hated being hugged by other men.
Of course, I had feelings for Hearts... but right now, he was sweating profusely.
As much as I liked Hearts, I couldn't stand the smell of a Western man's sweat.
It's not like there was anything in this other world that suppressed body odor.
Thinking this, I smiled at Hearts.
"Ahaha... I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm a little physically weak by nature."
I tried to indirectly tell Hearts that he smelled of sweat.
Hearts seemed to understand, nodding his head before speaking.
"I understand! Then let's move on."
Thankfully, Hearts didn't try to hug me after that.
I was slightly grateful.
As a gesture of appreciation, I used a weak [Ice] spell on Hearts.
It probably felt like an air conditioner had been turned on.
I had experienced that feeling before.
With that thought, we continued forward.
Perhaps it was the smell of troll blood on us, but the riffraff didn't dare approach.
I guess it was fortunate that the troll appeared quickly.
"Well, at least we haven't encountered any strange ones, thankfully."
"You're right. It's a pain when those weirdos show up."
The "strange ones" we were referring to were variant monsters.
Normal monsters were annoying enough, but variant monsters were even worse.
They were a real pain because they had the abilities of other monsters in addition to their own.
It was too much of a hassle to deal with them, so it was a relief that they hadn't appeared.
We walked for who knows how long.
I was starting to get bored, so I opened the forum and checked the posts.
I usually browsed the forum once a day to gather useful information.
[Today's Research Results...jpg][14]
[It's So Convenient to Experiment with Magic on the Battlefield lol][8]
[Koruntum Seems to Be Getting Cleared Up][16]
There were only three posts worth reading today.
However, they were all substantial.
They were from users who always provided quality information on the forum.
With that in mind, I checked the posts.
First, the first post.
[Author: CocoNenne]
[Title: Today's Research Results...jpg]
[Content: (Photo) Chimera complete ㅁㅌㅊ?] (T/N: ㅁㅌㅊ is something like how many likes, should I just replace this korean text emojis?)
L: Ah, crap, NSFL
ㄴCocoNenne: Well, it's your fault for clicking ㅋㅋ If you don't like it, don't look
ㄴCocoNenne: And what's so gross about it? It's cute
L: Seriously mentally ill if you think this is cute?
ㄴ: For real, seems mentally ill
L: At least make it humanoid, you bitch, before I find you and kill you
ㄴCocoNenne: Come find me then
ㄴCocoNenne: 1v1, up?
ㄴ:my bad
ㄴCthulhu: Damn lol Imagine being born a man just to be picked on by a Necromancer
ㄴ: As expected, confidence is key, Musclehead ㅋㅋ
ㄴ: Musclehead is the best
ㄴ: But I think Musclehead would win
ㄴCocoNenne: That guy's a bit iffy; his brain is all muscle
"Ugh."
I had unwittingly laid eyes on a horrifying image.
It wasn't even remotely human. Ears where the eyes should be, a nose where the ears should be, and countless toes sprouting where hair should be.
I didn't want to describe it any further.
It was that bizarre.
So, I left a comment.
L ReallyDirtPoor: Please keep that kind of stuff to yourself
The reply came immediately.
ㄴCocoNenne: You're from the Magic Tower, you must see this kind of thing all the time, right?
Hmm.
I had heard rumors that the Magic Tower conducted these kinds of human experiments.
But they were just rumors. The way they were talking, it seemed like there might be some truth to it.
So, I decided not to reply.
I didn't want to risk revealing that I wasn't from the Magic Tower.
'But wait, if I don't answer, I'm admitting it.'
If I didn't respond, it would be the same as admitting I wasn't from the Magic Tower.
But what if I responded and their statement was a lie?
That would also be proof that I wasn't from the Magic Tower.
After pondering for a moment, I decided to leave a comment.
It seemed plausible that such things would happen at the Magic Tower.
But I wouldn't pretend to know for sure.
I'd keep it vague.
ㄴReallyDirtPoor: I've heard rumors
With that, I quickly moved on to the next post.
I didn't want to waste any more mental energy on it.
How much time did these people spend on the forum?
It was like they were always posting, every time I checked.
[Author: DieIllegally]
[Title: It's So Convenient to Experiment with Magic on the Battlefield lol]
[Content: (Photo) It's all monsters anyway, so there's no need to worry about civilian casualties. It's the perfect place for research lol]
L: No advertising, ok?
L: No matter how much you say that, I'm not going to the battlefield
L: Funny how the losers who can't even go are commenting "I'm not going" ㅋㅋ
ㄴ: For real, it's absurd
ㄴDieIllegally: real ㅋㅋ
L: But are there really that many monsters on the battlefield? There would be so many byproducts lol
ㄴDieIllegally: There are leftovers, but nothing that valuable
ㄴ: Nothing valuable (From the perspective of someone skilled enough to be at the forefront of the battlefield)
My gut told me this person was an Archmage.
I had heard that there was an Archmage who hated fire mages, and this person seemed like a likely candidate.
After all, they weren't even trying to hide their identity in their posts.
It was like they were posting with the attitude of "If they find out, I'll be super popular."
With that thought, I moved on to the last post.
As always, it was best to end with a post from Mr. Ferus.
His posts always contained the most valuable information.
[Author: Ferus]
[Title: Koruntum Seems to Be Getting Cleared Up]
[Content: (Photo) Thankfully, many mercenaries came to help clear the battlefield. Thank you, everyone.]
L MayTheUnfaithfulFindPeace: I would also like to express my gratitude.
ㄴCocoNenne: Shouldn't you be sleeping, old man? ㅋㅋ
ㄴMayTheUnfaithfulFindPeace: It's a good day, so please refrain from starting trouble.
ㄴCocoNenne: Yeah, I'm planning to attack Koruntum with chimeras today ㅋㅋ Good luck defending it
ㄴ:?
ㄴ: Is she serious?
ㄴ: Don't mess with me, we just barely defended it. I'll kill you if you come
ㄴCocoNenne: Try it ㅋㅋ
L: It's absurd how she's making a raid announcement in the middle of all this ㅋㅋ
ㄴ: For real, is she insane?
ㄴ: That's a dark mage for you...
ㄴ Decadent: Dark mages don't do things like that, so please don't lump us together..
ㄴ: Suspicious Dark Mage caught red-handed trying to sneak away from his house
ㄴ: Upvote if you're the startled Dark Mage ㅋㅋ
LCocoNenne: For the record, I'm serious, so everyone better be ready
ㄴCocoNenne: That old man's comment actually made me want to go
Setting aside the Necromancer's trolling for now, I was relieved to hear that the situation in Koruntum had calmed down.
Of course, it seemed like it was hanging by a thread, but the important thing was that things had settled down.
As I continued walking, I couldn't help but think about Violet. She seemed like she had been in Koruntum.
Looking at her exhausted appearance, I couldn't shake the feeling. So, I decided to ask her directly.
"Violet, have you ever been to Koruntum?"
Startled by my sudden question, Violet responded with a surprised look.
"Huh!? Uh, well... I have. Why?"
"I heard there are a lot of adventurers in Koruntum, so I was thinking of checking it out."
Violet sighed deeply before answering.
"That's no place for someone like you. Don't bother going there."
"I thought it would be good to build some connections. You know I barely know anyone."
"We're enough. We have a Paladin, a Warrior, and an Assassin. What more connections do you need?"
"...You're right."
My attempt to inquire about Koruntum had failed miserably.
And so, we continued our journey towards the heart of the Forest of Illusions, unaware of what awaited us there.
Join our discord server for the latest release updates and novel discussions.
Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones.
Happy reading!